Family Ties
by Tiinabelle
Summary: Set after TBO. Ranger's young niece is abused, and Ranger and Steph track down the man responsible.
1. Prologue

Author:Tiina

Title:Family Ties

Rating:R, probably

Spoilers: Through TBO

Disclaimer:Not my characters, not making any money, etc.

Family Ties

Prologue

I was being chased through the TriBro warehouse by a guy in a rabbit suit. I could hear Angie and Mary Alice screaming somewhere ahead of me. Loud male voices overlapped, so I couldn't make out what they were saying. There were people running with me, I suddenly realized. I looked at their faces as we ran, and wished I hadn't. Samuel Singh and Steven Soder ran beside me, taunting me. "You can't save them, Steph, you can't even save yourself." said Singh. "Your heroes won't be able to bail you out this time. The trap for them has already been sprung." added Soder.

My sense of urgency kicked up a notch, if that was possible, and I ran faster. The girls' were starting to sound closer, but the male voices were silent now. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Couldn't worry about it now, had to get to the girls. Their voices were very close now, just ahead of me. I plunged through the doorway, and almost passed out in relief. Ranger and Joe were there, untying my entire family, working quickly. Ramirez lay in a heap in the middle of the room. I didn't check to see if he was dead, again. I jumped in to help untie the others. I had just gotten Mom untied, and she took the girls' in her arms, calming them. Joe was untying Grandma, Ranger was just finished freeing Mary Lou (when did she get here?), and Dad was struggling with the knots that still held Val. Ranger pulled out a wicked looking knife and cut the ropes, and everyone was free.

Quietly, Ranger said "We need to get out of here. Steph, you and Val follow me, Mary Lou, I want you and Edna two steps behind them. Mr. and Mrs. Plum, you two carry the girls, behind them. Morelli, bring up the rear, don't let anyone fall behind." Morelli nodded, saying "Ready when you are." The rest of us got into position, and we followed Ranger out the door.

We had gotten about halfway down the first hallway when Arturo Stolle and a couple of his goons stepped out of the shadows. Joe was shooting before the rest of us even realized they were there, and all three of them dropped quickly.

"Good eye." Ranger told him.

"Thanks, keep moving."

Ranger nodded, and set off at a brisk pace. The rest of us were keeping up, and I tried not to think about what my nieces had seen tonight. Just get them home safely, I told myself, before worrying about consequences.

We turned the corner, and ran straight into Abruzzi. Ranger shot him before he had time to take a breath. "Stay dead." he ordered him. Mom and Dad cuddled the girls to them, turning their faces away from the body. As soon as we got out of sight of it, Ranger reordered us. Now Dad and I were behind him, followed by ML and Val, carrying the girls, then Mom and Grandma, with Joe still bringing up the rear.

We finally reached the main hallway, and I could see the doors at the end of it. I wanted to sob with relief, but held myself together. We got halfway to the doors when Ranger stopped us. "Wait here, I want to make sure there's no surprises."

He turned to Joe, saying "Keep your eyes open." Joe nodded.

"Hold onto this Babe, just in case." He reached around to the small of his back, and handed me a gun. I tried to keep my hands from shaking as I took it from him. He gave my hands a quick squeeze and headed for the doors.

He reached the glass doors, and I held my breath. He looked quickly through the doors, and pulled his head back just before the hail of bullets came through it from outside. He jogged back to us.

"Who's out there?" I asked.

"Slayers. There are too many of them to go through without someone getting hurt. We need to hurry, before they gather enough courage to come in after us."

Joe had been listening intently. "There's a loading dock at the back of the building, and a small door at the west end of it."

Ranger nodded, saying, "You lead, I'll bring up the rear."

Mom was crying silently, the tears rolling down her face. Joe squeezed her shoulder as he passed her. He gestured for us to follow him.

We made it to the loading dock without incident. Joe waved Ranger toward the doors, and Ranger began to pick the huge padlock that was locking them. Just as we all heard the lock click open, the small door opened.

Clyde Cone stood in the doorway. Joe and Ranger and I drew our guns on him, but he laughed and showed us a small object in his hand. A grenade, with the pin already pulled. Shit. Clyde laughed. "You've all done well, but only the master gets to win the game."

He tossed the grenade at the group of us.


	2. Chapter1

Family Ties

Chapter 1

I woke up shaking and sweating, breathing hard. That had been a bad one. The nightmares that had plagued me since the Slayers incident two months ago were never the same, and I could never seem to predict when one would happen.

I threw off my blankets, and turned on every light in the apartment. I turned on the stereo too, trying to use light and noise to banish the last of the panic. I took a long, hot shower, and started to feel better. Not well enough to go back to sleep, but enough to be comfortable in my own apartment.

My phone rang, and I wondered for a minute who would be calling me in the middle of the night. The caller id said Joe.

"Hello?"

"Hey Cupcake, I was driving by your apartment on my way home and noticed your lights on. Everything okay?"

"Sure, everything's fine."

"Steph, you still having nightmares?"

I sighed. "Now and then."

"You want me to come over?"

"Thanks Joe, but I'm really okay."

I decided to change the subject, fast. "What are you doing driving home at this hour anyway, hot date?"

He chuckled, "Well, lukewarm would be more accurate. All she did the whole evening was complain about my job. Why did you put up with that from me for all that time?"

"Because I was an idiot. Kinda late to be getting home for lukewarm, isn't it?"

"Yeah, well..."

I laughed. "You slept with her anyway?"

"This feels weird...to be discussing my sex life with another woman with you."

"That's what friends do Joe. They talk about things. So you did sleep with her?"

"Um...yeah."

"Are you going to see her again?"

"Probably."

"Good."

"Listen Steph, we are friends, and if there's something you want to talk about, I'll be here. If you don't want to talk to me, the department has a psychologist, I could put you in touch with him."

I sighed, looks like I didn't get to change the subject for long. "Thanks Joe, I'll think about it."

"No problem Cupcake. I'm home now, so I'm gonna go. Call me if you need me, okay?"

"I will. Goodnight."

I hung up feeling much better. When Joe and I broke up a few days after the Slayers' mess, we did it without fuss or fanfare, and promised to stay friends. At the time, I wondered if we would be able to do that. I had been pleasantly surprised by how easy and uncomplicated our friendship was, now that we weren't trying to be more to each other. We still saw a lot of each other, but we could spend time together without tension. We had even discussed the possibility of a 'friends with benefits' option, but had decided against it. Besides, while I couldn't admit it to Joe (and barely admitted it to myself), his weren't the arms I wanted around me.

I put a movie in the VCR and laid down on the couch. I thought I might be able to sleep now.

I woke to a familiar tingle, and rolled over to find Ranger staring down at me. Uh-oh, that is not a happy stare.


	3. Chapter 2

Family Ties

Chapter 2

I shook my head to clear it. I couldn't think of anything I had done that would put that look on his face.

"Ranger?" I sat up, and pulled the blanket over, giving him room to sit beside me. "What are you doing here at..." I looked over at the clock above the TV, "Five in the morning!"

"Needed to talk to you. Something you want to tell me?"

I just looked at him. I couldn't imagine what he was talking about. "Like what?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Babe, every light you own is on, as well as the stereo, and the TV. You always sleep like this?"

"Did you come over to discuss my sleeping habits?" Okay, I was a little bit defensive. I had barely seen him in the last couple of months, and I didn't want to talk about my dreams.

"Stephanie." His voice was a warning.

I sighed, might as well get this over with. "I had a bad dream, okay?"

Again with the eyebrow. "You doing a lot of that?"

I looked up at him, deciding on how much to say to him. I shrugged a little. "Comes and goes." Truth was, I could use a little more going on the part of the dreams. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I wish you had told me."

I was starting to get a little angry. He made it clear where he stood. Our one night was one night, nothing more. One extraordinary night did not give him the right to...whatever the hell he was trying to do. I took a deep breath to calm myself before I answered. "I'm not your responsibility."

The not happy stare was still there. I had a feeling it wasn't about my dreams, or about me at all really. I asked again. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

He stared hard at me for a minute, tension radiating from every part of him. Finally, he nodded. "Take a quick shower Babe. I'll start the coffee. I want you alert."

I nodded. Whatever this was, it was serious. I stood up from the couch and placed my hand on his forearm. I think it was the first time I had touched him since the playground. "Ranger, are you okay?"

He stared through me this time, and I was getting really worried. Finally he gave me just the barest of head shakes, saying "Take your shower, and we'll talk about it."

I couldn't help myself. I put my arms around him and hugged him, hard. I was surprised when he hugged me back just as hard. There was nothing sexual about it, well, except that I was hugging every woman's walking wet dream. But you know what I mean.

I whispered "Okay" into his chest, and slowly let go to take my shower.

I think it was my fastest shower ever. I didn't know what was going on, but I was worried. I finished up and threw on jeans and a T-shirt. I took a couple of deep breaths, trying to relieve my own tension.

The smell of fresh coffee hit me as I made my way to the kitchen. Ranger had made coffee, fed Rex, and folded the blanket on the couch. He was pacing in the living room as I entered it. Pacing is not normal Ranger behavior. He was a master of a Zen-like calm. He looked up as I walked into the livingroom, and headed to the kitchen. He got there a few steps ahead of me and poured me a cup of coffee.

He walked back to the livingroom and gestured for me to follow. He sat down on the couch with less than his usual grace, and I suddenly realized he was exhausted. I wondered if his constant motion was simply to keep him from collapsing. I set my coffee cup down on the coffee table, and sat on the arm of the couch. I reached over and started massaging his neck and shoulders. They were like iron. Yep, definitely tense. We sat like that in silence for a few minutes. He dropped his head forward, allowing me better access, and closed his eyes.

"Whatever it is, I'll help if I can. I hope you know that." I told him quietly.

He placed his hands on mine, currently on his shoulders, and squeezed them gently. "Thanks."

"I need your help with an apprehension." He handed me a file. "His name is Michael Brennan."

I flipped through the file. Brennan had been arrested before, on minor charges. Drunk and disorderly, aggravated assault, a couple for domestic violence. This didn't seem like a Ranger file, it seemed more like one of mine. I looked questioningly at him.

"His latest charge isn't on there, because he hasn't actually been arrested for it yet, even though the charges have been filed. Attempted murder."

Okay, Ranger wanted my help to apprehend this guy? "What aren't you telling me?"

In answer, he handed me a picture. A beautiful little girl with a strong resemblance to Ranger. I looked up at him, not understanding. "My niece, Samantha. My brother Tomas' daughter. His victim."

I caught my breath. I handed him back the picture with shaky hands. "Why me?"

"He's on the run with his girlfriend, Sam's mother, Lydia. We need to bring them both in." He shrugged. "When apprehending a woman, especially if you have to cross state lines it's helpful to have another woman along. She won't be able to claim I...mistreated her in any way."

I nodded. "Was she involved?"

"There's no evidence to suggest it, but at the very least she covered up for him, lied for him, and tried to clean up and get rid of the evidence. As of now, she's been charged with Failure to Protect. The investigation is still underway."

"You said something about crossing state lines?"

"We have reason to believe they ran to her family in Arizona."

"When do we leave?"

"Don't know, how long will it take you to get ready? Does this mean you'll do it?"

"Hmm, I need to pack a few things, make a few calls, let my family know where I'm going, get a sitter for Rex...a few hours, I guess. I'll do it on one condition."

"Name it."

"While I'm getting ready, you get some sleep. You need to be at your best, and you're not. When's the last time you ate?"

"Taking care of me Babe?" Some of the tension had left him, and he looked amused.

"If you won't take care of yourself, someone has to."

He ran his hands through his hair. "You're right, I'll eat and sleep while you get ready. It's almost six o'clock now, pick you up at noon?"

I nodded. "I'll be ready."

He stood and turned toward the door. Suddenly he turned back, gathered me into his arms, and kissed me just below my ear. "Thank you." he whispered. And he was gone.

Well, I had a lot to do. Might as well get started.


	4. Chapter 3

Warning: Graphic description of Sam's injuries. Not pretty.

Family Ties

Chapter 3

It was too early to make my calls, so I decided to get my packing done first. I had barely begun when I realized I would have to do laundry before I could pack. Too early to go to Mom and Dad's, and if I went to Mary Lou's I could ask her about Rex while I was there.

Mary Lou had just gotten up, and was busy getting the boys up when I arrived. I explained as best I could what I needed. She agreed to watch Rex, and I had free run of the laundry room until ten, when she needed to get the boys' clothes done. When the boys were out of earshot, she asked about the job. I told her that I was helping Ranger bring back a couple who had hurt a child, and explained what he said about having a woman along when transporting a woman. I didn't think I should tell her about Ranger's relationship with this particular child, or with the woman we were after. Our conversation was interrupted several times, but the kids were on their best behavior. As I was leaving a couple hours later, she pulled me aside. "Steph, be careful. People that would hurt a kid are the worst kind of animal. But go get them."

Next stop, Mom and Dad's. I pulled up out in front of the house, and wondered what to tell them. Mom was in the kitchen doing the breakfast dishes, no one else was in sight. "Hi Mom."

"Stephanie? You're up early, is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, I just came over to tell you I'm helping Ranger with a job and will be out of town for a little while."

"You're leaving town with Ranger! What will I tell people? How long will you be gone?"

"Tell people I'm working. I don't know for how long, it depends on how long it takes us to find the people he's looking for. Gotta go, lots to do!" I didn't have that much left to do, but I made my escape anyway.

I reached home, and finished most of my packing. I took a good, long shower, since I had rushed this morning, and shaved everything and then some. Hair done, face on, I could now pack my bathroom essentials.

I still had almost two hours. Took Rex to Mary Lou's without stopping to chat. Returning home, I tried to think about what I might be forgetting. I hadn't called the office!

"Plum Bail Bonds."

"Hey Connie, it's me."

"Steph, you finally calling to tell me you're leaving town?"

"I guess you already know."

"Tank stopped by, he'll be taking Ranger's skips. Said if we had any you normally would take, he'd take them too."

"Well then, I guess that's it."

"Careful, Steph. Call us when you get back in town."

"Will do."

That wasn't so bad. I should probably call Joe. He'd be at work now, so I could leave a message on his machine. I didn't want to push our new friendship by arguing about leaving town with Ranger, whatever the reason.

"Hey Joe, it's Steph. I'm going to be working out of town for a while. Thought I'd let you know so you wouldn't worry if you couldn't reach me." Whew.

Called Dillon and arranged for him to check my mail. Hmm, still had some time. I could always clean up a bit. It would be nice to come home to a clean apartment. I was so involved in what I was doing, I didn't even hear Ranger come in.

"Babe"

I shrieked. "Ranger! Do you _have_ to sneak up on me like that?" He looked better, more rested.

A small smile tipped the corners of his mouth. "Don't have to, just like to." I scowled at him, which he ignored. "Ready to go?"

"Let me just grab my things."

Ranger took my bag, and we headed down the stairs. He was in his driving zone, so I relaxed and didn't ask any questions.

Arriving at the airport, my jaw dropped when I saw we were taking a private jet. Ranger put his hand under my chin, closing my mouth. "Borrowed it from a friend." Okay, this is just another difference between us. My friends are reluctant to lend me their car, his loan private jets.

As we boarded the plane, I took several deep breaths. I had never been involved in something like this. This was personal to Ranger, and I didn't want to let him down.

Two hours into our flight, my stomach started growling, and I suddenly remembered I hadn't eaten today. Ranger glanced over at me, "Hungry?"

"Starving, I haven't eaten today."

He frowned a little, "Now who's not taking care of herself."

"I was busy."

He stood and held out his hand, "C'mon, let's see if we can find you something to eat." I took his hand, and he led me to a small...kitchenette, I guess I'd call it.

We both spent some time poking into cupboards. The fridge was full of soda, water, and wine. Finally Ranger found a few cans of soup. "Looks like it's soup and soda Babe. We'll find some real food when we get where we're going."

"This will tide me over 'til then." I felt better after I ate, and took a nap until we landed. I woke up startled. I usually couldn't sleep on a plane.

Ranger looked at me, amused. "Problem?"

"No, I just usually can't sleep on a plane."

"You can sleep just about anywhere."

"Except on a plane. I have to be ready in case it crashes. Well, you did wake me up very early. I must have just been really tired."

He shook his head. "Let's go. We're meeting a friend of mine, a private investigator. Then we'll get an early dinner, okay?"

I nodded, and got up to follow him. We headed toward a black SUV, of course. I could not believe how hot it was! Didn't these people know it was October?

Ranger was back in his driving zone, so I was a little startled when he spoke. "In the side pocket of the bag behind my seat is the complete file. You should probably review it."

I shrugged, and reached over for the bag. Retrieving the file, I started to flip through it. First, a LOT of information on Michael Brennan. I wasn't sure how much of it was relevant, so I read it all. Then similar treatment of Lydia Yazzie, I guess she took her maiden name back when she and Tomas divorced. Several court papers referring to a custody battle for Samantha. Then came the medical report on Samantha. I read through the list, feeling slightly lightheaded. Broken cheekbone, collarbone, several ribs, right tibia, bruising to her face, neck, waist, all four limbs, lacerated liver, spleen, and pancreas, second degree burns to forty percent of her body, and fourth degree vaginal and rectal tears. The world went grey around the edges, and I bit my tongue, hard, to stay conscious. I was breathing hard, with tears running down my face. I turned the page, and came to the pictures. Oh, God. "Ranger, pull over."

He pulled over quickly and I stumbled out of the SUV just before I lost my soup. Good riddance. Ranger was at my side, holding my hair back with one hand while holding on to me with the other. I was grateful for the support, as I wasn't sure I could stand on my own. When I was sure there was nothing left to come up, I stood, and Ranger put both arms around me as I cried.

"Jesus, what kind of monsters are these people!" That was as much as I could get out coherently.

Ranger continued to hold me, murmuring in my ear. "Shh querida, we'll find them."

I got myself under control, and stepped back, wiping my eyes. Ranger reached into the glove box of the SUV and found some tissues. After I had cleaned myself up a little, I took a deep breath. I had a question, and I needed an answer.

"Ranger, what do you intend to do when we find them?"

He looked hard at me, understanding what I was really asking. "That's the other reason I wanted you to come with me." He said softly. I looked at him, not understanding. "I don't think I'll kill him if you're watching."

I took another deep breath, and nodded. I thought about those pictures again. If Ranger changed his mind and decided to kill the man that did that, I'm not sure I would stop him. I'm not sure I'd want to.


	5. Chapter 4

Family Ties

Chapter 4

We got back in the SUV and on the road. I don't know what Ranger thought about while he was in his zone, but I was concentrating on breathing slowly and _not_ seeing those pictures. Ranger found a gas station and pulled in. When I looked at him, he gave me a small smile. "Thought you'd want to wash your face before we get there."

I nodded, got out of the SUV, and rummaged around in my bag for my toothbrush, among other things. I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and decided to just redo my mascara and some lip gloss. Heavy makeup wouldn't hold up in this heat anyway. I examined the results. Not too bad, my eyes were still a little red and puffy, but otherwise okay.

Ranger was silent as I returned, but held my eyes. I don't know what he was looking for, or whether he'd found it, but he started driving without comment. "Tell me about your friend, the one we're meeting."

"Pat? You'll like her. She's a tough as nails, all attitude, kick your ass and take no prisoners kind of person, but she'd give you the shirt off her back, adopts strays, and manages to be all woman in the process. 'Course, she did steal one of my best men from me. I figure she owes me one."

"And what does she figure?"

"We're about to find out."

"Ranger?"

He raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to continue.

"Sam, will she..." I was almost afraid to ask the question, but I had to know. "Will she recover?"

His hands tightened on the steering wheel, and I held my breath. "It was touch and go for a while, but they say she'll recover fully, at least physically."

I let out my breath in a rush, and thought about what he said. What kind of damage would that do to a small child, and how long would it take before anyone knew? I thought about my own nightmares, and knew that hers could be worse. My eyes were filling with tears again. I took a deep breath, and shook my head to clear it. I promised myself a good long cry when we were through for the day, if only I kept it together until work was done.

We pulled in front of a small office building. 'Imari Investigations'. "Your friend?"

Ranger stared at the sign. "She changed the name."

"What?"

" Kap and Snake got married last year. She changed the name of the company, now that she is Mrs. Jack Imari."

He shook his head, and we went inside. Ranger was immediately bowled over by a human dynamo.

"Ranger!" She was maybe five foot three, dark hair and eyes, maybe Hispanic, maybe Native American, maybe Italian or maybe all of the above. Whatever, she was gorgeous! I don't know what I had been expecting, a female version of the Merry Men or something I suppose. This woman did not match my mental picture. Oh sure, she had the looks, and come to think of it, looks like she's got some muscle too. But this woman had curves. Okay, so maybe she was an amazon warrior, just a compact model.

She interrupted my musings when she enveloped me in a hug. "You must be Stephanie. So glad to finally meet you."

"And you must be Pat."

She nodded "Pat, Kap, Kappy, KQ, whatever. I answer to just about anything but 'hey bitch'." Her laugh was infectious, and I couldn't help but like her.

Pat turned her attention back to Ranger, more serious now. "And how are you holding up?"

"I'm fine."

She looked at him with total disbelief.

"No, really, I'm much better for finally being able to _do_ something."

"Okay, I'll buy that."

"Did you find anything out for me?"

She smiled "Of course. But wait for Jack, he should be here any minute."

As if on cue, Pat's face lit up when the second most devastatingly handsome man I'd ever seen walked into the office. If I hadn't been standing next to the first, I might have drooled. Like Pat, he seemed to be of mixed origins. Some African-American, some Asian, maybe something else as well, I don't know. Again like his wife, it simply didn't matter. He was as gorgeous as she was, and together they made a striking couple.

Pat had a mock scowl on her face, but a grin was trying hard to break through. She put her hands on her hips. "Mister."

His grin wasn't hiding anywhere. "Missus."

Her grin won, but she kept up the 'you're in trouble' tone. "You're late."

He wrapped his arms around her, and they relaxed into each other. "I know, but I heard back from Sonny."

"Already?"

He nodded before turning his attention to us. "Ranger. Good to see you, even under these circumstances. Ms. Plum, I'm Jack Imari."

We shook hands as I said "Please, call me Steph."

"Jack, or Snake if you prefer."

Ranger interrupted "Snake, who is Sonny, and why is it surprising that you heard back from him?"

"Let's all sit down and we'll go over what we have so far."

There was a small conference room off the front office, and we took our places there. Jack looked to Pat. "Hon, you first."

She nodded. "We were able to find signs of your ex sister-in-law. She arrived here in town four days ago. She spent two days in a motel, and another with a friend. Through that friend, we discovered that she and her boyfriend, who we assume is Brennan, moved to the reservation."

Ranger was quiet for a minute, processing. "Do you have any connections on the reservation?"

Pat shook her head. "No, but Jack does."

Ranger raised his eyebrow toward Jack. "Sonny?"

"In a manner of speaking. Whatever happens, you have to know that without cooperation from powerful friends up there, it'll take more than a full squadron to find anyone up there. We're outsiders. It so happens that I have been spending time with a local medicine man, trading Chinese and Native remedies. He's very old, very respected, and very powerful in the local community."

"I take it we're not talking about Sonny."

"Not yet. Sonny is his grandson, heir, and...protégée, I guess. I contacted Sonny to ask him if I could see the old man in the morning. Sonny got back to me a little while ago to say we're all set."

"I don't see where this is going."

Jack sighed. "Ranger, if we can get the old man's blessing, people may open up to us. It's our only chance of finding these people."

"So what exactly are we asking for?"

"Not _we_, me."

Ranger looked like he was about to protest, but Jack held up his hand. "Hear me out." Ranger nodded. "We're all outsiders, but the old man knows me, and respects me. I'm asking him to give his blessing to our searching for these people on his land, disturbing his people. I'm also asking for Sonny's direct assistance and participation."

"Why?"

"Several reasons. One: Sonny knows everyone. He'll be able to suggest new avenues to explore based on his knowledge of the relationships of everyone involved. Two: Everyone knows Sonny. If he is with us, people will know that the old man approves of the investigation. Three: By asking for his own grandson's help, the old man will know we have nothing to hide. Four: Sonny knows that land better than anyone. If they go to ground away from people, he'll know the best places to look."

Ranger nodded. He still didn't look happy with having a stranger along, but understood the necessity.

"I'd like to have the investigative reports, and the medical report on Sam."

"Why?" This time Ranger's tone was low and dangerous.

"Without it this will be a hard sell. Brennan is also an outsider, and the old man won't see our..involvement with him as his problem, or his people's. Yazzie is one of his own, no matter how remotely. He won't be inclined to help us find Brennan if it leads us to her."

"But with the file?"

"I need to show the old man what she helped him cover up and run away from. Once he sees that, he won't feel any loyalty to her."

"You're confident of this?"

"Yes. If he sees this, there will be nothing he'd like better than to get these two off his land and away from his people."

"Good enough. So, we wait until tomorrow?"

Jack nodded. "Yes. Eat, sleep, try to get yourselves tuned to the new time zone. I'll be talking to the old man just after sunrise. I should be back around nine or so."

Pat spoke up. "You two are more than welcome to stay with us, you know."

Ranger smiled. "I appreciate that Kap, but we've made other arrangements. Besides, I wouldn't dream of crowding the newlyweds. I'll call in the morning."

Ranger and I said our goodbyes, and got back in the SUV.

"Babe, I know you must be starving, but how about we check into our hotel before we hunt down a restaurant?"

"That's fine." I still didn't have much of an appetite.

We arrived at the hotel, and Ranger turned to me. "Connecting rooms okay?"

I shrugged. "Sure."

The hint of a smile was back. "Sure you trust me?"

I looked at him, puzzled. "When have I not?"


	6. Chapter 5

Family Ties

Chapter 5

We checked in, and decided to unpack and change before dinner. It was early, but I was already exhausted. I took a quick shower, changed, and was ready when Ranger knocked on the door.

"Ready?"

I just nodded, and we headed downstairs to the SUV. Ranger was quiet. Well, Ranger was almost always quiet, but this felt different. He felt...distant.

We pulled into the restaurant, and just sat there a minute. Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore. "Ranger?" He turned to look at me, expression blank. "You okay?" No response.

He seemed to snap out of whatever zone he was in, and we found a table in the restaurant. Ranger was studying me, and I was getting a bit uncomfortable.

"What?" I hoped I didn't sound as exasperated as I felt.

"Why?"

I just looked at him. "What are you talking about? Why what?"

"Something you said when we got to the hotel. You've always trusted me. Why?"

"Is there any reason I shouldn't?"

"Answer the question."

"Ranger, you've always been there when I needed you. You've always helped me. Why wouldn't I trust you?"

"That explains why you trust me now. You have from the start. Why?"

"I don't have a good answer for you, Ranger. I just knew that I could. I did, and I wasn't disappointed."

"Never?"

"Well, you did give me some bad advice once."

The waiter came to take our order, saving me from discussing this further. Ranger dropped the subject, and we just made small talk during our dinner. I didn't eat much. Ranger lifted an eyebrow at me when I pushed my plate away, but didn't comment.

"No dessert?" He looked surprised.

I shook my head. "I'm too tired for dessert."

"I guess we should get back then."

We were almost at the hotel when Ranger broke the silence. "You doing okay, Babe?"

I looked at him, startled. "Yeah, why?"

"I'm worried about you. Bad dreams, skipping dessert, not eating much. You've lost quite a bit of weight."

I smiled a little. "Thanks, but I'm okay. The dreams are...troublesome, but they aren't as frequent as they were, so hopefully I'm through the worst of it. I'm eating fine, mostly, today was an aberration. I just didn't have an appetite after seeing those pictures."

"Sorry about that. I should have warned you. I've been a little distracted lately."

"It's okay, Ranger."

"That doesn't explain the weight loss though."

I started to laugh, while he looked at me, obviously confused. "Sorry," I told him after I got myself under control. "It's just ironic." He was still looking at me, waiting for me to explain. "I've been running."

He lifted an eyebrow, with the ghost of a smile on his lips. "Stephanie Plum, getting up early to run? Can't picture it. What made you decide to do that?"

My laughter dried up, and I swallowed, hard. Of course Ranger noticed. "Babe? I didn't mean to upset you." I nodded. "Talk to me."

"Right after the slayers mess, the nightmares were...pretty horrific. I could never seem to tell when they were coming. After a while, just the anticipation of a nightmare was keeping me awake most nights. I was afraid to sleep. So I started to run in the evenings. If I was tired enough, I didn't worry so much about what might happen when I closed my eyes."

"God Babe, I'm sorry."

It was my turn to look at him, puzzled. "For what?"

"For not being around more. I didn't know you were having trouble."

I gave him a sad smile. "I'm not your responsibility, Ranger. You can't rescue me from myself."

He started to answer, but my phone was ringing the theme from 'Cops'. I smiled as I answered. "Hey Joe, you got my message?"

"Hey yourself Cupcake, and yeah, I did. Everything okay?"

"Fine. You're out late again, seeing miss 'I hate your dangerous job tonight'?" I said on a laugh.

He chuckled. "For the last time, I think."

"That's too bad. I was really enjoying the poetic justice of it all."

"You would. Not that I blame you."

"That's okay, I hear you asked out that nurse at St. Francis, Kelly, was that her name?"

"How did you know about that?" He sounded frustrated.

"Please Joe, you asked her out in the middle of a busy ER. I had six messages on my machine within the hour, and probably twice that by the next morning."

"Shit. Sorry about that."

"No problem."

"Listen, I just called to check up on you. Did you manage to get back to sleep last night?"

"Yeah, I did, thanks."

"You working with Manoso?"

I tensed a little. "Yeah, and?"

"Nothing. Be careful."

"I will. And thanks for checking up on me."

"Anytime, Cupcake. Call me when you get back home."

"Will do."

We were in the parking garage of the hotel. Ranger had been listening. Well, not that he had a choice when I was sitting right next to him. Before I knew it, he was opening my door.

He had his hand on the small of my back as he guided me to the hotel. "Babe?" I turned to look at him. "What's going on with you and Morelli?"

I smiled. "Wow. You _have_ been out of touch. Joe and I broke up a couple of days after the slayers."

His jaw tightened. "So he just left you to deal with everything alone?"

We were almost to our rooms, and I stopped and pulled away from him. "No, actually, he didn't. Even after we decided it was over, he wanted me to stay in his guest room so he could keep an eye on me. I couldn't do it. It would have been too weird. He still checks on me damn near every day. You know what? I'm tired of trying to defend each of you to the other. Frankly, I'm just plain tired. Goodnight."

I wouldn't say I stomped to my room, but it was a close thing. I managed not to slam my door. I took another shower, letting the hot water ease some of the tension in my neck and shoulders. I was just toweling off when there was a knock on the door that connected my room to Ranger's.

I threw a robe on, and sighed as I opened the door. "What do you want, Ranger. I'm tired."

"I'm sorry Babe. It's really none of my business. I just feel guilty for not being there for you. When I thought he hadn't been there either..."

"Well, he was there. And you're right, it isn't your business. And contrary to popular belief, Ranger, a woman doesn't need a man to get through tough times. I have my family, my friends, and my work. It's enough. "

"Is it?"

I sighed. "It's had to be."

He reached out and brushed my hair back from my face. "Please don't be angry with me Babe. I was just worried about you."

Damn. Ranger was hard to resist under normal circumstances. I wasn't sure what to make of a sweet and concerned Ranger.

I gave him a small smile. "Focus your energy where it belongs, on finding Brennan and Lydia."

He smiled back at me. "Done. You gonna be able to sleep?"

"I think so."

He leaned forward, barely brushing my lips with his. "Wake me if you need to go running, okay? We don't know anything about this neighborhood."

I smiled, now _this_ was the Ranger I knew. "I will. Thanks."

"Sleep tight."

I shut the door between us, and crawled into bed. Despite my exhaustion, it was a long time before I fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 6

Family Ties

Chapter 6

The morning came too early, again. I got up with a sigh and headed for the shower. I hoped Snake had some news for us today. I hate waiting. I had just finished getting dressed when Ranger knocked on the connecting door.

"Hey Babe, sleep okay?"

I nodded. "You?"

He didn't exactly answer. "We've got an hour or so before Snake is expected back. You want to go out for breakfast or order room service?"

I smiled over at him. "Definitely room service."

"You want me to order for you?"

"Sure, you know what I like."

The small smile was back. "I sure do."

I blushed, and busied myself picking up the room. Ranger ordered breakfast, then started pacing.

"Ranger?"

He stopped, waiting.

"You sure you should be the one to do this?"

He took a deep breath. "I'm not controlling myself very well, am I?"

"No, and it's a little unnerving."

"I'll get it together. I just hate waiting here with no control over anything."

"I know. You have to trust that Jack will get what he's after, and then your work starts."

He nodded. "I do trust Jack. I just can't stand not knowing what's happening."

I don't know what I might have said to that, as his cell phone started to ring, and he went back to his room to answer it.

I sat down to wait for room service, and my phone started ringing as well. Hmm, it was Tank. "Hello?"

"Hey Bombshell, the Boss with you?"

"Not right this second, did you need to talk to him?"

"Actually, I called to talk to you. I just wanted to make sure he was out of earshot."

"He is. What's up?"

"Just wanted to see how he's holding up, he didn't look good when he showed up here."

I took a deep breath. I didn't quite know what to say. It seemed wrong to be talking about him behind his back this way, but this was Tank, and I knew he had Ranger's best interests at heart.

"Steph, you still there?"

"I'm here, just don't know what to say."

"Has he slept? Eaten?"

"Yes to both. He's...antsy, I guess. We haven't really been able to get started, we're waiting on some information."

"Yeah, he's spent a lot of time at the hospital, until he was sure Sam would live. Since then, he's just been focused on catching the bastard. Listen, Steph, he may settle down some when the work starts. Keep an eye on him. If you feel like you need me to come down there, don't hesitate, just call, I'll be on the next flight."

"Thanks Tank, I will." I heard Ranger opening the connecting door. "Gotta go." I disconnected.

"Everything okay?" I asked him.

He smiled, the most genuine one I had seen since this started. "Fine. They're lightening up Sam's sedation, and she smiled at her dad this morning."

"I'm glad."

"So, how was Tank?"

Should have known I wouldn't be able to keep that from him. "Worried about you."

"What did you tell him?"

I sighed. "That you had slept, and eaten, and that I'd keep an eye on you."

He shook his head a little, before asking "And he said?"

"That if I thought he should come down here to call, he'd be on the next flight."

Breakfast arrived before he could respond, and we settled in to eat.

We had just finished, and were stacking the dishes before he brought it up again. "Thank you both. I'm fine."

I looked at him, curious. "Would you tell me if you weren't?"

He held my eyes. "I...don't know."

I took a deep breath. "Ranger, you can't expect me to be your partner in this if I can't count on you to tell me if it's too much. I can't do this without you, and if you can't focus... I wouldn't know what to do."

The small smile was back. "Actually, Babe, you could do this without me." I looked at him, incredulous. "I'm serious. This Sonny person seems to have the kind of connections here that you have in the 'Burg. Snake could provide you with the muscle, and Kappy would be able to guide you through the legal maze to get them back to Trenton. With your instincts, and your luck, you don't really need me for this."

I didn't know how to respond to that. "That's beside the point, really. Even if I could do this without you, that's not in my plan. I still need to know I can count on you to tell me... anything you need to tell me."

The smile became a grin. "That covers a lot of ground, Babe. Sure about that?"

I leaned toward him, and brushed his lips with mine, very gently. "Absolutely."

His cell phone rang again, but this time it was on his hip. "Yo. We're on our way." He disconnected.

"That was Kap, Snake and Sonny are on their way in to the office."

I nodded, and gathered my things.

We were driving to the office before either of us spoke again. "Tell me about Jack and Pat."

He glanced toward me. "What do you want to know?"

"How did they meet? And how Pat 'stole' him from you."

He smiled. "That's a great story. Pat was working a parental abduction case, and it led her to Trenton. She didn't have any connections there, so she came to Rangeman to hire backup and help. I gave her Snake. Anyway, the two of them finally track down the exact location of where this guy is hiding his daughter." He started to chuckle.

"What? Don't stop there, they tracked the guy down and then what?"

"The plan was this. Snake would sneak the two of them into the house, they'd find the little girl, and Kap would get her out of the house while Snake dealt with the father where the girl couldn't see. With me so far?" I nodded. "Okay, so they get there, sneak into the house, and are having a hard time finding the girl. They finally head down to the basement, and find the girl just as the father finds them." He was laughing now. "Kap takes one look at the girl, and the plan goes out the window. Snake ended up having to get the girl out of the house and into his truck before coming back and pulling Kap off him. Man, I wish I could have seen that."

"The father mistreated her?"

He shrugged. "He didn't beat her, if that's what you're asking. She was old enough, and smart enough not to believe her father when he told her that her mother didn't want her anymore, and that's why she would be living with him. She kept trying to escape to call her mother, so he locked her in the basement. Kap walks in, sees the girl dirty and cold, with peanut butter sandwiches and a pitcher of Koolaid, and goes to town on this guy. I think Snake fell for her right then and there." He was smiling to himself at the memory.

We were parked outside the office now, but he made no move to get out of the SUV. Instead, he turned toward me. "Anyway, Snake accompanies them all back here, to 'assist with the transfer', he says. It took him ten days. About a month later, Kap showed up in Trenton for a week. Pretty soon, they're doing the long distance thing with frequent visits back and forth. After about a year of this, Snake puts in his notice and moves out here. He buys out Kap's old partner, and they got married last year."

He shakes his head. "C'mon, let's go meet Sonny."


	8. Chapter 7

Family Ties

Chapter 7

We headed inside to wait for Jack. Pat had coffee going, and the three of us made small talk. Ranger told Pat that he had shared the story of how she'd 'stolen' Snake from him. She just smiled and said "I didn't steal him, honey. He gave himself eagerly." We were marking time.

Finally, Jack walked into the office, followed by a young man. This must be Sonny. Ranger glanced at them before indicating to Jack to follow him back out the door. I looked a question at Pat, and she shrugged.

Pat turned to Sonny. "Hey, long time no see. Coffee?"

He smiled as he answered. "Coffee would be great, thanks."

He turned to me, and held out his hand. "I'm Sonny, you must be Stephanie."

"Hi Sonny, nice to meet you. Thanks for helping us with this." He was really young. Late teens or early twenties, I was guessing.

He glanced toward the doorway that Jack and Ranger had left through. "Your friend Ranger doesn't seem to think it's a good idea."

I didn't know what to say, so I just shrugged.

Jack and Ranger came back in. Jack looked annoyed. Ranger was doing the blank face again, but I could sense his tension.

Sonny looked from one to the other, trying to suppress a smile. Finally he turned to Ranger. "If you're done complaining that I'm too young, we have work to do."

Ranger's tension eased just the smallest amount. He locked eyes with Sonny. "Is that what I was doing?"

I had to give the kid credit, he didn't back down. I've seen grown men cower under that stare. "Weren't you?" He took a deep breath. "Look, I want these people off our land. It's your job to remove them. All I have to do is introduce you and show you around a bit. I think I'm old enough to handle that. Just think of me as your own personal Indian guide."

Jack coughed to cover a laugh, and Pat was grinning.

Ranger had a small smile on his face, and leaned back, looking deceptively relaxed. "How old are you?"

Sonny grinned. "Twenty. So, are we doing this, or do you prefer to spin your wheels a while before you call me back?"

Ranger took a seat at the conference table, and motioned for Sonny to do the same. Jack and Pat sat down with us, Pat handing Sonny a cup of coffee. Ranger turned back to Sonny. "Any ideas on where to start?"

Sonny turned to Pat. "Who were they staying with here in town?"

Pat pulled a file toward her, "Kamia Tsosie."

"I guess we start there." Sonny raised an eyebrow as he looked at Ranger. I smothered a laugh, and wondered if Ranger had been like this when he was young.

Jack spoke up, "I've already talked to her. The only thing she told me was that Yazzie and Brennan spent one night there. She didn't know where they went after they left her place."

Sonny turned a small smile toward Jack. "No offense Snake, but she doesn't know you. She wouldn't have told you any more than she had to."

Ranger raised an eyebrow at that, asking "Think you can do better?" What was going on between these two?

Sonny's smile became a grin as he pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and dialed. The rest of us were quiet, listening.

"Hey Kam, it's Sonny. ... Yeah, yours too. ... Listen, I need your help with something. ... You gonna be home for a while? ... Great, see you in half an hour."

He looked back at Ranger as he answered the original question. "Let's go find out." He stood, waiting.

Ranger blew out a breath and stood as well, holding out a hand to me. I took it and stood, grabbing my bag with my other hand.

Pat looked at Sonny, amused. "I'm assuming you don't need an address?"

He shook his head, and headed out the door without another word.

I shrugged, waved to Pat and Jack, and followed, pulling Ranger with me. Just before we reached the door, I asked him, "What's up between you and Sonny?"

He gave me a small smile. "He reminds me of me at his age. It annoys the hell out of me."

I rolled my eyes as I went through the door.

We all piled in the SUV and drove off, Sonny giving Ranger directions.

As we drove, I asked Sonny how he knew Kamia.

He shrugged before turning to face me. "She grew up on the reservation too, and she's only a couple of years older than I am. She's my...second or third cousin, and she's engaged to one of my best friends. Kam's good people, she obviously didn't know Lydia was on the run or why, or she never would have helped her."

"What's she doing now?" I'm always curious, and it seemed like a good idea to have some idea of who the person was that we were going to meet.

"She's going to school. Pre-med. Wants to be a pediatrician in the clinic when she's done."

This got Ranger's attention. "Think she'll follow through?"

Sonny smiled. "Definitely. She's smart, and driven. She's already signed a five year contract with IHS."

"IHS?" I asked.

"Sorry. Indian Health Services. They help with her tuition in return for her commitment to work for them for five years."

Sonny indicated the next turn, and we were in front of a large apartment complex. "Just pull into the lot."

We parked and followed Sonny through the complex. He finally headed up the stairs to the third floor with Ranger and me in his wake.

He knocked on the door, and a minute or so later it was opened by a tiny beauty. "Sonny! Good to see you!" She threw her arms around him, and he picked her up, laughing.

"Come in and introduce me to your friends."

She led us into a small but well-kept apartment. There were books and papers all over her coffee table. She attempted to straighten them out a little. "Sorry, I was studying."

"Hopefully we won't keep you long, Kam."

She looked up at Sonny, considering. "Okay. Have a seat, and tell me what the trouble is."

Sonny looked at her, amused. "What makes you think there's trouble?"

"Tarandero, please. At this hour you should be studying with your grandfather." She spun back to him. "Oh my God! He's alright, isn't he?"

"He's fine, Kam. Relax."

I could sense Ranger's impatience, and put a hand on his arm to restrain him. Kamia was more likely to talk to Sonny than to us.

Sonny must have sensed something as well, because he got right down to business. "Actually, we're looking for Lydia Yazzie."

Kamia shrugged. "She and her boyfriend stayed here about a week ago. I haven't seen them since. Why are you looking for her?"

Sonny met her eyes. "Her daughter is in the hospital. The boyfriend put her there."

She looked shocked. "And she's still with him?!"

I spoke up then. "It gets worse. She tried to cover up and clean up the evidence, then helped him get out of town before he was arrested."

She sank down onto her heels, then turned to Ranger. "And you are?"

Ranger's gaze was steady on hers. "The child's uncle."

She nodded, but was silent.

Sonny prompted her. "Kam? Can you help? How do you know her?"

"She used to be my babysitter." She shuddered. "Kendra Bainbridge is her best friend. I don't know if they would have been able to stay there, but I'm pretty sure she would have at least called her, maybe met with her."

"Why wouldn't she have stayed there?" Ranger asked.

Kamia smiled a little. "Kendra has a very small house and a very big family."

"Anything else?"

"Luz Cota. The three of them were inseparable when they were younger. I know she has a sister, but I think she left and headed East years ago. That's all I can think of."

"Thanks Kam. Call me if you think of anything else, okay?"

"I will." She turned to Ranger. "Your niece, is she going to be okay?"

"She's not completely out of the woods yet, but it looks like she'll recover. Thanks for asking." He smiled at her, and she looked dazed. I tried not to roll my eyes.

We said our goodbyes and went back to the SUV. None of us said anything until we were in the car and back on the road.

"Where to?" Ranger asked.

"Kendra works as a teacher's aide at an elementary school on the North side of town. She's not going to talk to us at work. Our best bet is to catch her at home after four o'clock."

"And Luz Cota?" I asked.

"She lives on the reservation. That's a three hour drive. I suggest you get some lunch and then pack up your things. Unless you want to waste half of every day commuting, you'll need to stay on the reservation. My sister and her family are out of town for the next ten days, you can stay there. If we haven't found them by then, you'll need to make other arrangements, but this will work for now."

Ranger nodded. "Thank you. Join us for lunch?"

Sonny shook his head. "If you could drop me off and Snake and Kap's office, I'd appreciate it. You can pick me up there any time after three-thirty or so."

We did so, filling Pat in on what we found out while Sonny charmed her out of her car keys. She promised to find out what she could on Cota and Bainbridge.

We got back in the SUV. "Lunch?" Asked Ranger.

"Sure." I answered.

"Any preferences?"

I just looked at him. He smiled. "Right. I know just the place. No tofu, I promise."


	9. Chapter 8

Family Ties

Chapter 8

We drove a few more miles before parking in front of a small restaurant called 'Rosa's'. I looked at Ranger.

"Snake brought me here when I came out for the wedding. They have great Mexican food, I think you'll like it."

I smiled. "Sounds good."

We ordered, and I was thinking about Sonny and Ranger.

He asked "What's that smile about?"

"Just thinking about you and Sonny. Trying to imagine you as a kid."

He shrugged. "I was like every other kid, full of myself and convinced I knew everything. Wasn't until I joined the service that I got a clue on how much I didn't know."

"Did you just volunteer information? Hand me a calendar. I need to mark this down."

"Smartass."

I grinned. "Better watch yourself Ranger, if you're not careful I might actually get to know you."

The look he gave me was serious. "You know me better than you think."

I rolled my eyes. "Please. What I know about you I could fit on a matchbook cover."

The waitress arrived with our drinks, and some chips and salsa. I dug in happily. After a few minutes I noticed Ranger watching me. "What?"

"Last night at dinner you said I gave you bad advice."

I shrugged. "You did."

"About working it out with Morelli?" I nodded, and he continued. "It was the only thing I could tell you at the time."

I met his eyes. "It was still bad advice. Doesn't matter anymore."

"Why not?"

"Because in a way, I did take your advice. Joe and I finally have a relationship that suits us both. With none of the drama of the old relationship."

Our food arrived, and we ate in silence for a while. He was right, this was great food. I ate until I couldn't force another bite. Ranger looked amused.

"What? It's really good food."

"Nothing, just relieved you got your appetite back."

We left the restaurant, and I was glad for my recent weight loss. As uncomfortably full as I was, I still didn't have to unbutton my pants.

"We should go pack up."

I nodded agreement and got in the SUV.

Packing didn't take long, as I hadn't unpacked much. Ranger knocked on the connecting door shortly after I finished.

"Ready?"

"Just finished."

He took my bag to the SUV before checking out. As we were walking to the parking lot, he turned to me.

"It may surprise you to know that you're as much a mystery to me as I am to you."

I shot him a disbelieving look. "Ranger, your whole life is a mystery. Mine is an open book."

"There's different ways of knowing someone, Steph. You may not know my history, but I bet you could predict pretty accurately how I'd react in any situation. I know a lot of your history, but I can't predict how you'll react to anything."

I wasn't sure I agreed, but it was something to think about. I changed the subject. "What's next on the agenda?"

"We've still got some time before we're due to meet Sonny. We should check and see if Pat has anything new for us."

We arrived to an empty office. Ranger evidently knew the keycode, because he let us in without any trouble.

There was a note for us on Pat's desk.

_Ranger and Steph,_

_Following up on a lead in an ongoing investigation. Didn't find much on the women you asked about, but what I have is in Brennan's file in the top drawer. If you leave before we get back, call and let us know where you're staying. Happy hunting-KQ_

Ranger took the file out of the drawer, handing me pages as he finished them. Pat was right, there wasn't much. Nothing unusual in their credit report or employment histories.

Ranger handed me the last pages, "Look at this."

It was a medical record for Kendra Bainbridge. Seems she had a lot of 'accidents'. I read through it. Broken ribs, broken arm, broken nose. Multiple ER visits for bruising. Each time she claimed she fell. I sighed. The last entry had me curious. She was obviously badly beaten, and had been admitted for observation for a concussion. The primary complaint had been domestic violence. Had she finally admitted what was going on? That admission was two years ago. Nothing since.

I looked at Ranger. "So, did she leave him, or did he go to jail?"

Sonny spoke up from the doorway. "Both, and neither."

Ranger turned to him. "Explain."

Sonny walked toward the desk as he spoke. "Tommy had been beating her for years. He hit one of the kids, and she left him. He caught up to her after work, and that's when he beat her for the last time. She finally pressed charges against him. He only went to jail overnight, and she went into hiding. The night he was bailed out, he went out drinking, then went searching for her. He drove off the road and died. I think she was more relieved than anything else."

"Would she have stuck to her guns?" I wanted to know.

Sonny looked hard at me, thinking. "I'd like to think so, but she'd gone back to him so many times. That was the first time he'd hurt one of the kids though, so maybe she would have."

"And how do you know all this?" I was still curious.

"Please. The reservation is like any other small community. It thrives on gossip. Plus she and Luz were joined at the hip in high school, and Luz used to babysit my sister and I when we were small."

"Lot of babysitting going on," I observed.

He shrugged. "Not that surprising, really. When Kam, Gene and I were little enough to need one, there were three teenage girls in the neighborhood. Luz, Kendra, and Lydia. My mom felt that Luz was the most responsible of the three, so that's who she called."

"Kamia's mother didn't feel the same way?"

"Kam's mom was a single parent. She probably needed a sitter with more availability. Luz was only allowed to sit on the weekends."

I nodded, satisfied.

Sonny dropped Pat's keys on her desk, and the three of us got into the SUV.

Sonny was again giving Ranger directions when another thought struck me.

"Hey Sonny?"

He looked at me, waiting.

"Did you know Lydia back then too?"

He shook his head. "Not really. I mean, I knew who she was, and that she sometimes hung out with Luz and Kendra, but I don't think I ever spoke to her. Besides, she left the reservation before I was ten."

"Where did she go?"

"New York, I think. Her sister was going to school out there or something. I don't really remember."

Ranger spoke up. "That would fit. Tomas met her in New York."

We pulled up in front of a small but well kept house. As we walked toward the door, Sonny turned to Ranger.

"Kendra's a nice lady, and she's just now getting her life back together. Try to go easy on her."

Ranger gave him a dark look.

I decided to intervene. "Sonny, why don't you talk to her? Ranger and I won't interfere unless we have to." I was looking pointedly at Ranger as I finished speaking.

Sonny looked from me to Ranger. At Ranger's nod, he answered. "Works for me."

Kendra answered the door, looking slightly mussed. "Sonny?" She was obviously surprised to see him. "What's up? And who are these people?"

Sonny smiled. "This is Ranger, and this is Stephanie. We need to talk to you. Can we come in?"

She stepped back from the door. "Oh, sure." There was yelling coming from further in the house. She let out a sigh, and said. "Give me a minute. They're supposed to be doing their homework. Meet me in the living room."

The noise level died down in what I assume was the kitchen, and Kendra joined us a few minutes later. "Sorry about that. They tend to run wild if they think I'm out of earshot." She smiled, and suddenly looked five years younger. "So is anyone going to tell me what this is about?"

Sonny leaned forward. "We're looking for Lydia and her boyfriend. Have you seen or heard from her?"

She looked at him for a long while before answering. "Yeah," she said slowly. "They camped out in my backyard for a few days. What did he do?"

"What makes you think he did anything?" Ranger asked softly.

"I didn't like him." She turned back to Sonny. "Something about him reminded me of Tommy."

"You have good instincts, Kendra. Brennan beat Lydia's little girl. She's still in the hospital." I chimed in.

She closed her eyes, and shook her head. "I knew I shouldn't have let them stay here." She sighed, and opened her eyes to meet Sonny's. "What do you need to know?"

"How long did they stay?" asked Sonny.

"Three days. Friday through Sunday. Lydia said they had an appointment on Monday. When I got up Monday morning, they were gone."

Ranger took over. "Did they say what kind of appointment? Or give any indication of where they were going next?"

"No, sorry. She just said they didn't have enough money for a hotel for the weekend, and they needed to stay in town until after the appointment on Monday. And your role in this?"

"I'm Samantha's uncle."

She raised her eyebrows at that. "And when you find them?"

"They'll be escorted to Trenton to face trial."

She nodded, then sighed. "Lydia was never the most stable person. When she wrote and said she'd married and had a child, I was so happy for her. She seemed happy, and I was glad she'd settled down. I would never have imagined..." she trailed off.

Sonny picked up the questioning. "Kendra. Is there anything at all you can think of that would help figure out what that appointment was, or where they went after they left here?"

She opened her mouth, then stopped, hesitating.

"Please." I asked her.

She nodded. "This is just my impression, okay?" We all nodded, and she continued. "Lydia's boyfriend seemed... wired."

Ranger lifted an eyebrow and asked. "Wired on drugs?"

Kendra nodded again. "I think so. And I wondered if their appointment had something to do with drugs. Lydia seemed like she expected to have money afterward, so.." She took a deep breath. "I don't really know anything, but that's what I was thinking."

"Thank you." Sonny told her.

Ranger wasn't finished. "Kendra? Did anything make you suspect she was with him against her will? Or that he abused her in any way?"

"No. She didn't seem afraid of him at all."

Ranger blew out a breath. "One last thing." He pulled out a card and wrote on the back of it. "The numbers on the front are friends who are helping with the investigation. On the back are my and Stephanie's cell phone numbers. Would you be willing to call one of us if you hear from her again?" He handed her the card.

She reached out a hand to take it, nodding. "Lydia sent me a picture of Sam once, on her first birthday. Beautiful girl. She'd be, what, three or four now?"

Ranger nodded. "She'll be four in a couple of months."

"I hope she's okay."

"We think she will be, thanks."

We all stood, and the three of us prepared to leave.

Kendra escorted us to the door, looking thoughtful. "Sonny?"

We all turned back to her.

"Check with Luz and Victoria. She might have gotten in touch with them too."

"We will, thanks."

We all piled in the SUV, none of us speaking. I didn't notice we were driving back to Pat and Jack's office until we were almost there.

"Ranger?" I looked at him, not understanding.

"Want to see if Kendra's hunch is right. Snake may have the contacts on the reservation, but Kap has them in the city. If Brennan had drugs to deal, she'd know how to find out."


	10. Chapter 9

Family Ties

Chapter 9

I turned to Sonny. "What do you think?"

He shrugged. "Tommy tried every substance known to mankind, and probably a few that aren't. If Kendra thinks Brennan was on drugs, he probably was."

"And dealing?" Ranger asked.

Sonny shook his head. "Not something Kendra has any experience in. But if Lydia said they didn't have any money, he wasn't buying."

Ranger smiled a little, and met Sonny's eyes in the rearview mirror. "That's why it's worth it to check into it. Need a job?"

"Got one, but thanks."

Ranger shrugged, "The offer is open indefinitely."

We pulled up in front of the office. Sonny had left Pat's car there earlier, but I was guessing that was Jack's SUV parked there as well. All three of us headed into the office.

Pat was just finishing up a phone call as we walked in. She smiled as she looked up. "Hey, I was just about to lock up. We're done for the day. Join us for dinner?"

Ranger smiled at her. "We'll have to take a raincheck on that. We actually came to ask you a favor."

"What's that?" asked Jack, coming in from the back of the office. He walked up behind Pat and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned into him with a smile before looking expectantly at Ranger.

"Kendra believes Brennan may have stayed in town to make a drug deal."

"What kind of drug deal?"

"She said he was wired. He'd have been selling."

Jack kissed the top of his wife's head, telling her "Your department" before backing off and taking a seat at the other desk in the office.

She nodded absently, before turning back to Ranger. "You have photos of both of them, right?" At Ranger's nod, she pointed toward the back of the office. "Make a bunch of copies while I make a call."

Ranger headed in that direction while Pat dug her cell phone out of her purse. "Can never... oh, there it is. You two might as well have a seat."

Sonny and I took her advice, and sat down to listen her half of the conversation. "Rene? It's Ransom. I need a favor. ...Looking for someone...no, not one of yours...An outsider looking to deal...see you in 20."

Jack watched, amused, as Pat turned and yelled toward the back. "Ranger! You got those copies yet?"

Ranger returned, carrying a stack of copies. "What's the rush?"

She grabbed them out of his hands. "Places to go, people to see." She walked over to Jack, kissed him a promise, and told him "Back in about an hour."

He nuzzled her neck a bit before letting her go. "Be careful."

She picked up her purse on the way out. As she got to the door, she called out "Hey Steph, ready to go?"

I picked up my purse and started to follow her. Ranger got to the door so fast I didn't even see him move.

"Where are you going?"

"Meeting a friend who can get us some information, he'll know if Brennan was trying to deal." Pat answered calmly.

"He'll know this how?"

"He leads the Califas. They've got their hands in everything these days."

"You're taking Stephanie to meet some drug dealing gang banger?"

I was starting to get offended. I mean, I wasn't crazy about it either, but I wanted to find these people. Besides, hadn't he heard Pat call him a friend? I thought we were partners, and now he's talking about me as if I wasn't there.

Jack spoke up. "Pat knows what she's doing, Ric. Now would be a good time to back off."

Pat narrowed her eyes. "I thought Steph was your partner. You've apparently forgotten what that means. You either trust us or you don't. If you do, get out of the way, we've got work to do. If not, do this your own damn self."

Ranger took a deep breath before turning to me. "Babe?"

"I have to go, Ranger. See you in about an hour."

His jaw clenched, but he nodded, and reached into the small of his back, pulling out a gun and settling it in my waistband. "Be careful."

I followed Pat out to her car, and got in without a word. I waited until we got out of the parking lot to ask my questions. "Okay, who is Rene, and why would he help you? And why did you pick me to go with you rather than one of the guys?"

She smiled a little as she navigated. "Rene runs the Califas, a local gang. He owes me a few favors. As we're not going after any of his crew, he'll be happy to help to pay off at least one of them. His street name is 'Odie'."

"Odie? Like the dog in Garfield?"

She shook her head. "No, because his competitors have a habit of turning up in the morgue, victims of an overdose." I shuddered as she continued. "I chose you because he won't see you as a threat. Bringing one of the guys implies lack of trust. And weakness, that I need one of them to take care of me. I'm not about to give these guys a weakness to exploit."

"Do you trust him?"

She thought about this for a minute. "Within certain limits, yes. If I was after him or one of his crew, I've no doubt he'd do anything he needed to do to prevent that. We've helped each other on occasion, and have an unspoken mutual non-interference policy."

"So, 'Ransom'?"

Pat blushed, and took a deep breath. "Just between you and me, okay?"

I nodded, curious.

"I've known Odie since I was in high school. His youngest sister was in my class, and I helped keep her out of trouble and out of the gangs, which he appreciated. He was already heavily into the life, so we were friendly, but not friends. My senior year, I was working part-time for a private investigator, strictly secretarial stuff, but learning how to do the research. So anyway, one day I had this stupid slip that just wouldn't stay up."

"Wait a minute. A slip?"

"Yes and just let me finish this horribly embarrassing story before we get where we're going."

I nodded, and grinned a little at her continued blush.

"So, the elastic was out on my slip, and it wouldn't stay up even after I pinned it, so I took it off. I figured, it was a black skirt so no one was going to see anything anyway. Shit, I haven't thought about this for a long time. Okay, so the slip is in the trash, I'm working, everything's fine."

I was smiling now. I couldn't wait to hear the rest of it. "Until?"

"It was my turn to make the lunch run. My skirt was opaque in fluorescent light, but in sunlight? Not so much. I get to the restaurant to pick up our order, and Odie's there." She shakes her head. "Of course, he _has_ to make a smart ass comment."

"What did he say?"

She laughed. "He looked me up and down and said, 'Nice. Hey baby, how much?' I was mortified. So of course, I had to make a smart ass comment right back."

"Of course." I managed through my laughter. "What did you say?"

"Well, first I looked him up and down, then I told him 'More than you'll ever have.' So he tells me that money is easy to come by, and asks again, 'How much?' I looked him right in the eye and told him..."

"Oh, come on! What did you tell him?"

She blew out a breath on a laugh as she answered, "A king's ransom."

I looked at her and we both lost it. When we'd finally calmed down, and I'd wiped the tears from my eyes, Pat turned to me again. "If you repeat that story I'll deny every word."

I shook my head, "It's not that bad, really. Ask a Rangeman about my stories sometime. And those are public knowledge."

"Nothing doing, you have to give me a story that's _not_ public knowledge.

I thought about it a minute, then told her about Joe handcuffing me to the shower rod, and having to call Ranger to let me loose.

Her turn to laugh at my expense. "And Ranger didn't make any wisecracks, no come on lines, nothing?"

"No come ons, no wisecracks until much later, when I could laugh about it."

She looked at me like she was trying to decide something. "I thought..."

"What?"

"Nevermind, table it for now. Lose the guns, we're almost there."

I removed Ranger's gun from my waistband, and my own from the small of my back. Funny that Pat noticed but Ranger didn't. Still worried about him. I looked to Pat, and she nodded toward the glove box. I put both guns in just as we were parking in the lot of a pool hall.

Pat caught my eyeroll, and laughed. "I know, very cliche."

I followed her in, and she stopped at a pool table near the back. She turned toward the largest man I have ever seen. Imagine Tank, if he let himself go and gained a couple of hundred pounds, give or take. I think he had four chins, but I couldn't quite see that high, so I could be wrong.

"Zip, we have an appointment with Odie."

He nodded and came toward her. She lifted her arms to the side and let herself be checked for weapons. "She going with you?" He jerked his head in my direction, causing all his chins to wobble. Pat nodded, and he gave me the same treatment. Satisfied, he said "This way." and opened a door at the back.

Zip didn't follow us in. I don't know what I expected from the leader of a gang. Someone like Junkman, I guess. This man was tall, thin, and looked like anyone. Well dressed, he looked like an ordinary businessman. Too well dressed for a pool hall though.

He approached us both, watching me warily. He hugged Pat, telling her "Ransom, it's been a while. How's married life?"

Her smile lit up the room as she answered "Married life is everything I ever dreamed of, thank you. How is your family?"

"They are well. My daughter is nearing puberty, and I'm losing sleep, but she is a good girl. Introduce me to your friend." This was not a request.

"Odie, this is Bombshell."

He took my hand as his eyes raked over me. "She certainly is. Pleasure to meet you. Any friend of Ransom's and all that."

Well, if Pat could be calm under that stare in high school, I could now. So I coolly looked him in the eye, and simply said "Thank you."

The corners of his mouth turned up before he released my hand and turned back to Pat. "So, you are looking for a drug dealer now? Doesn't seem like your style."

She shook her head. "I'm looking for a man who beats and rapes baby girls, who happened to be looking to deal for some getaway money."

He nodded. "Ah, this makes much more sense. How did you get involved?"

"The girl's uncle is a friend. He's actually the one looking, I'm just trying to help." She answered softly.

Odie turned to me. "And you? How do you fit into this?"

"I'm the uncle's partner." He nodded.

"Why the partner and not the uncle?" he asked Pat.

"He and Snake worked together." Odie's eyebrows went up. "His patience is very thin just now, and I didn't want his temper to...complicate our friendship."

Odie smiled. "Thank you. The man's name?"

Pat handed over the stack of pictures. "His name is Michael Brennan. His girlfriend is Lydia Yazzie. They may have left for the reservation, but any information is appreciated."

"Any idea as to substance or quantity?"

"Only that our source believed him to be 'wired'. We suspect he was looking to conduct business on Monday."

"Hmm. Just him, or are you looking for the woman as well?"

"Both of them."

"And if he hasn't left? If I find them, what would you have me do?"

"Hold them. We'll send someone to pick them up."

He nodded. "One of you must accompany the someone." Pat nodded. "This 'baby girl', how old?"

Pat turned to me, so I answered. "Three."

Odie turned to me. "If we find them first, I will call Ransom. I can promise they will be breathing. Beyond that...I make no guarantees."

I met his eyes. "So much the better."

He smiled fully as he turned back to Pat. "I like her. You choose your friends well. I will spread the word immediately. Now, I won't keep you from your new husband any longer."

We both murmured our thanks, and calmly walked out the door. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when we got in the car, but didn't feel too bad when I noticed Pat doing the same.

She smiled at me as we turned out of the lot. "Call Ranger and tell him we're on our way back."


	11. Chapter 10

Family Ties

Chapter 10

I hurried to follow her directions. The phone hadn't completed the first ring when he answered. "Babe? Everything okay?"

I laughed into the phone. "Everything's fine. Just calling to let you know we're on our way back."

I heard him let out a breath. "Good, that's good. Did you...nevermind, we'll talk about it when you get here."

"Okay, see you in twenty." I disconnected.

Pat gave me an amused glance. "Don't tell me, he was worried sick."

I shrugged. "Guess so."

"Does he know you've been training with Tank?"

I looked at her, startled. "Apparently you do. And you know about 'Bombshell'. Care to explain?"

She shook her head a little. "Nothing unusual really. After Ranger called and said the two of you were on your way, I called Tank. If you were going to be backing up Jack, or me, I wanted to know a bit about you. So I've already heard some of the Rangeman stories. Tank says you're a quick study, and he'd trust you to watch his back. That says a lot."

I had mixed feelings about this. I mean, it made perfect sense for Pat to want to know something about me. And I was warmed by Tank's vote of confidence. But he hadn't mentioned it to me. And I still felt like...well, like he'd been talking behind my back. I didn't like it. I sighed, and decided to table it for now.

Pat was silent while I performed my metal gymnastics. At my sigh, she spoke up. "Back to the original question. Does Ranger know you've been training with Tank?"

The question surprised me, in that it had never occurred to me that he might not. Batman always seemed to know everything. Of course, he had been out of touch while he was focused on Sam. "I don't know." I finally answered.

"You should tell him. He'd probably worry less."

I smiled a little. "Maybe. Worrying about me seems to have become a habit for him. Hey, what were you starting to say before we met with Odie?"

She took a deep breath. "Just that...look, this may be none of my business."

"But?"

"I was under the impression from Jack that there was something going on between you and Ranger."

I shrugged, uncomfortable. How do I explain me and Ranger to someone else when I don't know how to explain to myself? "We're friends." I decided to go with the easiest answer.

"Just friends?"

I sighed. "Anything other than that is...beyond our expectations. I don't know how to classify what's happening with us, and I don't think he does either. We just..." I trailed off, unsure of what I was about to say.

"Love and trust each other." Pat supplied.

"Well, yeah, but..."

"But?"

"But his lifestyle doesn't lend itself to relationships!"

Pat burst out laughing. "Is that what he said?" At my nod, she continued. "True as far as it goes, but neither does yours. Neither does Jack's, nor mine. It works if you want it to, Steph."

That didn't seem to require a reply, so I didn't.

Pat's cell phone was ringing, interrupting a train of thought I didn't really want to have.

"Hello?...That was fast...shit...thanks, I appreciate this." She hung up.

My curiosity was killing me. "So?"

Pat smiled. "Seems Kendra's hunch was right. Brennan left the city, if he left, with a few thousand dollars. But, we have a description of the vehicle and a license plate. And Odie's crew is still keeping an eye out for them."

I didn't even notice we were back at the office until she parked. I quickly hopped out of the car and headed into the office. I found Ranger and Jack in the conference room.

Pat was half a minute behind me. She handed me my gun, and handed Ranger's to him. He raised an eyebrow at me but kept silent.

Jack was already pulling Pat into his lap. "So, I take it the meeting went okay?"

"Yep. Brennan was there to deal, walked away with a few thousand dollars. We did get a vehicle description and a plate though. I'm going to run it in a minute, see what we come up with." She made no attempt to get up, instead snuggling deeper into Jack's arms.

Ranger looked at the two of them and laughed. "C'mon, Snake. The ladies have been doing all the work. Let's at least go get them some dinner."

At the mention of dinner, Pat and I both perked up. Pat jumped up and extended a hand to Jack. He laughed as he took it, telling Ranger "There may be hope for you yet! Looks like you finally got one right today."

Pat swatted him on the ass and told him, "We're going to work on this plate. You get us some food, and you'll have a much happier wife."

He laughed and headed out to do as she asked, pulling Ranger out the door with him.

Pat turned to me. "Let's see what we can find out by the time they get back."

"Sure. I hope you mean the royal we, because I have no idea what I'm doing."

"Don't worry, I'll show you."

"Hey Pat, where's Sonny?"

"Hmm, good question. We'll ask the guys when they get back."

Pat showed me how to do some of the research on the computer. The more time I spent with her, the more I liked her. She had a way of teaching me things without making me feel like an idiot. I was so engrossed in what I was doing, I didn't even hear the guys come back.

Jack was waving a bag in front of my face, saying "Earth to Steph, Earth to Steph." I pushed the bag out of my way, trying to make sense of what I saw on the screen.

"Hey Pat? Can you take a look at this?"

I felt Ranger's hand on the back of my neck. "Find something Babe?"

"Maybe, the plate doesn't match the description of the car though."

Pat walked over to look. "Whatcha got?"

"The only plate I can find that matches what we have belongs on a Ford Taurus. We were told that they were driving a Jeep. Maybe I screwed this up."

Pat looked interested. "No, I don't think so. Scoot over, let me see what I can pull up."

I did, just as Jack spoke up. "They were driving a Taurus when they stayed with Kamia."

Pat just smiled. "Curiouser and Curiouser. Look, the Taurus the plate should be on was reported stolen last Thursday."

"The day our friends got into town." Said Jack.

"Was it recovered?" Asked Ranger.

Pat continued to punch the keyboard. "No, not so far."

"Do we know what they were driving when they stayed with Kendra?" I asked.

Ranger shook his head. "No, we didn't think to ask. Do we have a phone number for her?"

Pat answered. "Yes, but call in the morning. Kendra's an early riser, and it's getting late."

Ranger nodded. "Can you look up how many Jeeps were stolen between Friday and Monday?"

Pat nodded. "116"

"Try red Jeep Wranglers, five years old or newer, only in the city limits." I suggested.

"9"

Ranger smiled his appreciation. "Nice. Okay, so they have a stolen Jeep, and several thousand dollars. Why would they transfer a license plate from one stolen car to another?"

"Well, they're not very bright, are they?" Said Jack. "Maybe they're just trying to muddy the waters."

Pat shook her head. "I don't think so. I mean, anyone who watches TV has got to know that if those plates get run and don't match the vehicle, they are automatically in a boatload of trouble."

"What if they did it just to deal downtown?" I asked.

"Why would they do that?" Ranger asked.

"Well, if everyone's looking for that plate, it wouldn't take much to change it, would it?"

"No, but they've already stolen two cars. Why not just take another?" Asked Jack.

"Steph may be on to something." Pat commented. "They could take the Jeep, put its plate in the glove box or something until they were safely out of town. Switching a plate in the middle of the desert is a lot less risky than stealing another car."

"Yeah but why bother unless they specifically wanted the Jeep?" Jack looked thoughtful. "Off-road capabilities, maybe?"

Ranger nodded. "So they have an off-road vehicle and several thousand dollars."

"And camping gear." I reminded him.

Ranger ran his hands through his hair. "Shit. They could be in Mexico by now."

"Maybe," acknowledged Pat, "but I still think they're more likely to head to the reservation, at least at first. More chance of getting help."

"She's right. Even running scared, they're more likely to head to the familiar." I got up and put a hand on Ranger's shoulder. "Don't give up yet, I still think we'll find them."

He turned to me and smiled. "You're right. We're better at finding than they are at running. Thanks."

"Well, we can't do any more tonight. I'll try to track the Jeep further in the morning," said Pat. "Odie's crew will keep looking for them as well. Now, I think you boys promised us dinner?"

Laughing, Jack picked up the food and gestured toward the conference room. The rest of us quickly followed.

They had picked up Chinese food, and they got a lot of everything. While we ate, Jack kept us entertained with some of his stories from when he worked with Rangeman. He was a good storyteller, and Pat and I laughed so hard we cried.

Ranger was quiet at first, but his spirits picked up, and he contributed a few stories of his own. Of course, most of his stories showed Snake in a less than flattering light.

I had never seen Ranger like this, laughing and joking with friends. I blessed Jack for his ability to lighten the mood. Pat caught my eye and winked, she knew exactly what he was doing and why. I felt a rush of warmth toward both of them, and gratitude that Ranger had people like them in his life.

As the meal wound down, Pat suddenly remembered our question. "Hey! Where the hell did Sonny go?"

Ranger looked startled. "He caught a ride home. We'll catch up with him in the morning."

"Did he leave you directions to his sister's?" I asked.

"Directions, a key, and a promise to stock a few basics in the fridge before he went home."

"Oh, good."

"Babe?" I looked at him, curious. "Since when do you carry a gun? Especially an automatic?"

"Since when do you not notice?" I countered. He raised an eyebrow and waited. "It was a present from Tank. I've carried it for almost two months. Since when do you not notice?" I pressed.

He sighed. "Didn't sleep well last night, too keyed up to get started today. Can you shoot it?"

Pat interjected, "Tank says he'd trust her to watch his back."

The eyebrow was back up. "Really? Sound like you have a story to tell me, Babe." He stood as he continued, "But we better save it for the road. It's late, and Sonny will be over early."

We all started to clean up and get ready to go. Pat and Jack promised to call if they learned anything new, and we promised the same.

Ranger turned to them as we were leaving. "Snake, Kap, thanks for the help, the meal, and the company."

Jack clapped him on the shoulder. "Our pleasure, man. We'll have to get together under better circumstances."

Ranger nodded his agreement. "That would be good. Better treat your lady right, or I'll come back just to steal her out from under you."

Jack looked bemused. "Actually, I'm usually under her."

"JACK!" Pat was three different shades of red, and we left with the roar of Jack's laughter following us.


	12. Chapter 11

Family Ties

Chapter 11

Ranger was chuckling a little and shaking his head as we got into the SUV. I was smiling, glad Jack and Pat had managed to get him to unwind a bit.

The silence between us was comfortable, peaceful even. Ranger waited until we were on the highway to break it. "Babe?" I almost jumped, startled. "You were going to tell me a story?"

I grinned at him. "Was I?"

He grinned back. "You don't have to, I'm just curious. Tank said he'd trust you to watch his back. That brings the total people he's said that about to five. It's not a thing he'd say lightly."

I shrugged. "I've been training with Tank and the boys some."

He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? How did that happen?"

I sighed. "It started when I started running. I wanted to exhaust myself, but I was afraid to go out alone..." I trailed off.

Ranger took my hand. "You don't have to talk about this if you don't want to."

I smiled and squeezed his hand. "No, it's okay. Anyway, I started carrying my gun with me when I ran, but it was very uncomfortable. I finally bought a shoulder holster."

Ranger kept silent, letting me find the words. I hadn't really let myself think about those dark days, even while I was living them. There was something almost...cathartic about sharing them with Ranger.

"So one night, maybe a week or so after the Slayers, I'm running, and a black Bronco pulls up beside me."

"Tank." Not really a question, but I nod anyway.

"Yeah. He asks if I want a ride, and I just shake my head and keep going. Then he asks if I'm okay, and I nod and keep going. I get to the corner, and he's waiting for me. He tosses the keys to whoever he was riding with, and falls into step behind me."

"What did he say?" Ranger asked.

"Not a word. By the time we get back to my apartment, the Bronco is waiting in the lot. He gets in and takes off. The next night, as I'm leaving my apartment, there he is, waiting. Follows me on the run, then leaves without a word. The fourth or fifth night, Bobby is waiting for me in the lot. I look at him, and he tells me Tank had a takedown. Bobby again for a couple of nights, then Lester for two or three nights."

"And none of them said a word, even Lester?"

"Not then. And I appreciated it. I didn't want to think, much less talk. They were just a silent, comforting presence behind me."

"How long did this go on?"

"A little over a week, I guess. Then one night as we get back to the lot, Tank says he'd like to take me to the range in the morning, and to call him when I get up."

"And you did?"

I smiled a little. "I know, surprised me too. When we got to the range, Lester and Bobby were there waiting for us. Made me nervous at first, but they were all helpful. They made me shoot several different guns. We were there until I could barely hold my arms up anymore."

"And then?"

I smiled, remembering. I had really missed Ranger that day, but was touched by the guys' obvious concern. "Tank said I'd feel like less of a victim if I knew I could protect myself, and that they'd like to help. I took them up on it."

He smiled, shaking his head. "Wonders never cease. So what did they have you doing?"

"At first it was just range time every morning, and the run every night. Then Bobby came over with some dumbbells, and a simple program for me to follow every afternoon. Eventually, we started cutting down on the range time, and replacing it with other things."

"Like?"

"Driving practice, submission holds, stuff like that."

"You said the Glock was a present from Tank?"

I smiled. "Yeah. He'd had me borrow one for practice, and it suited me. He set up a shooting challenge, and if I passed, I got one of my own. Lester's challenge was an obstacle course, I got the shoulder holster for that one."

"And Bobby's?"

"I had to disarm him. Took me a bunch of tries."

"What was the prize?"

"This holster," I indicated the small of my back, "and a thousand hours of range time."

"I'm surprised Bobby hasn't wanted to teach you knife fighting."

"Not yet, probably next month. We've been focusing on me being able to defend myself against someone else with a knife."

He nodded. "Makes sense. Wait a minute... You disarmed Bobby, who was armed with a knife?"

I grinned. "Yeah."

He shook his head. "I'm impressed."

I laughed out loud. "So was he, actually."

"How did you find time to go to work during all this?"

I looked out the window and shrugged. "There's lots of time when you're not sleeping." Ranger squeezed my hand. "Besides, it really didn't take up that much time. An hour or two very early in the morning, and another hour late at night. There was plenty of time to work in between."

"And you were okay to go back to work?"

I shook my head a little. "Not really, but Tank planned for that too."

"How?"

"He decided I needed a partner until I was sure of myself, and assigned himself."

"And you went along with it?"

"Not at first."

"How did he get you to agree?"

"We eventually worked out a deal. With you away, he was picking up your skips for Vinnie. We worked my skips in the morning, and his in the afternoon, unless either of us had one with a time constraint."

"You and Tank were working my skips together?" I nodded. "I didn't do a very good job, did I?"

I looked at him, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"I was supposed to be your Henry Higgins. If I had done the job right, you wouldn't have needed to train with the guys, and would have been ready for higher level skips sooner."

"Ranger, this is not your fault. If you had tried to train me like that, you'd have had to drag me kicking and screaming. You'd have been frustrated, and I'd have been resentful. I doubt I'd have learned much."

"And now?"

"Now I have all the motivation I'll ever need to get whatever training I can."

"Why?"

I swallowed before I whispered. "I'd do anything to avoid feeling that helpless and scared again. Anything at all..."

He pulled over and threw the SUV into park, unbuckling my seatbelt and hauling me into his lap almost before I was aware of what was happening. He held me tight against him, and I relaxed in his arms. "I'm so sorry." He said softly. "I should have been there for you."

I shook my head. "Not your job." He frowned. "Besides, being surrounded by the Merry Men, I felt like you were there in some odd way. I do wish you could have seen me disarm Bobby though, the look on his face... I don't know who was more shocked, him or me."

He chuckled a little. "I'm sorry I missed that. Did they tell you where I was?"

"No. Tank just said you were called away. I'm guessing now it was Sam."

I felt rather than saw him nod. "At first we weren't sure she...we thought she.." He let out a breath. "By the time we were pretty sure she would live, there were other issues. They couldn't cast her leg because of her burns, and I guess the damage to her pancreas would have been incredibly painful if they had let her feel it, so they were keeping her in a coma. She had to have these elaborate dressing changes twice a day. Tomas was a mess, he still blames himself. Thinks he should have tried harder to get custody. I didn't want to leave him."

"Of course not. You don't owe me any explanations. They're family, and they needed you. Look Ranger, I appreciate that you wanted to be there for me, but really, if you had, and something had happened to Sam, you would never have forgiven yourself. I wasn't in any danger, and the issues I was having I need to work out on my own anyway. So stop feeling guilty."

He smiled and kissed the top of my head. "I'll see what I can do."

I squeezed him once and then got into my own seat. Ranger watched until I buckled my seatbelt, then got us back on the road.

"Ranger? You said this morning they were lightening Sam's sedation?"

He smiled. "Yeah, they have been for a few days. Her burns have healed enough to cast her leg, and whatever tests they run to check her pancreas looked better, so they started to slowly wean her off the drugs. Three days ago she was awake enough to take out the breathing tube. Once she was breathing fine on her own, Tomas was much better, so I knew I could leave and hunt down this bastard. This morning was the first time she was awake enough to recognize her dad."

I smiled, but I was worried about the way he said he'd 'hunt him down'. That was a scary tone if I ever heard one. "So, you want to tell me why you didn't sleep well?"

He glanced at me, then shrugged. "Told you, I was keyed up to get started."

"Ranger." I knew he wasn't telling me something. He avoided looking at me. "Hey, I thought we were partners."

He sighed. "I was imagining everything I'd like to do to him once we catch him, then talking myself out of doing any of it."

"Thank you. Well, I hope you were convincing."

That startled a laugh out of him. "Only you, Babe."

I settled back in my seat, content. I thought Ranger was going to be okay, and that made things better in my world. I stifled a yawn, and eased me seat back a little. I watched the highway in the darkness, and drifted off to sleep.


	13. Chapter 12

Family Ties

Chapter 12

I woke up suddenly, still shaking a bit. Ranger had parked the SUV again, and was standing against the open passenger side door, obviously he'd woken me. I took a deep breath, then reached into the glove box for some tissues to wipe the sweat off my face. I was embarrassed, so avoided looking at Ranger.

He leaned into me, and turned my face to his. "You okay?"

I nodded, looking down. "Yeah, thanks."

He pulled back without a word, and got back in the driver's seat. Once we were back on the road, he asked "They always that bad?"

This time I did look at him. That hadn't been a bad one, but I didn't know how to answer him without saying so.

Of course, he interpreted my look correctly. "How was that not bad?"

I sighed, then ticked off the reasons on my fingers. "I knew I'd been dreaming the minute I woke up, I don't remember it, so I can't still see it, and I feel like I could probably go back to sleep."

He took a deep breath and shook his head. "Jesus, Steph."

I reached out to touch his arm. "They really are getting better, Ranger."

He nodded. "Would you tell me if they weren't?"

I smiled a little, remembering our earlier conversation. "Yes. We're partners, right?"

He barely smiled. "Right."

I was still uncomfortable talking about this, so I changed the subject. "How much longer?"

"We're almost there."

I nodded. A few minutes later we pulled into the driveway of a small house. "We're on the reservation?"

"The edge of it, anyway. Have been for a while." He handed me a set of keys. "Why don't you unlock the door while I get our bags?"

I got out to do just that. I unlocked the door, and fumbled for a light switch. I had just gotten the lights on when Ranger walked in behind me. I liked this house, the furniture was all in light woods and pale colors. Obviously kids lived here, there was a playpen in one corner, and I could see a highchair and a booster seat in the kitchen.

Ranger handed me my bag, saying "Pick a room."

I wandered down the hall, looking into each room as I passed. The first was decorated with lots of sports related paraphernalia, a twin bed and one that was even smaller. Then there was a small bathroom, and the next was obviously a nursery. At the end of the hall, there was a master bedroom with another bathroom attached. I walked back to the kids' room and set down my bag. I came out of the room and met Ranger in the hallway.

"Leaving me the master bedroom?" He asked.

I pointed to the room behind me. "I don't think you'd be very comfortable in there."

He looked over my shoulder and shrugged. "Probably not. Listen, I'm still not going to attack you in your sleep. If you want to sleep in the master bedroom..."

I looked at him, unsure of what to say.

"I think we'll both sleep better, especially in a strange house. If it makes you uncomfortable, I can take the couch."

I paused, feeling awkward again. I mean, I know what I wanted, but...oh hell, might as well just say it. I walked back into the kids' room and picked up my bag. As I passed him in the hall on the way to the master bedroom, I said. "You don't have to sleep on the couch."

I heard him behind me, but didn't turn around. I rummaged in my bag for my shoulder holster and some shorts. I definitely needed a run tonight. Ranger watched as I gathered my things.

"Going for a run?" He asked quietly. I nodded. "Is it okay if I join you?"

I finally turned to look at him. "Sure."

I changed in the bathroom, and was just putting on my shoulder holster in the bedroom when he came back in. He'd obviously changed as well, and was ready to run.

"Steph, can I ask you a question?"

I looked up at him, waiting.

"What happened between the time you fell asleep and the time we got here? All of a sudden you're skittish around me again. Is it the dream, or that I saw it?"

I shrugged. "A little of both, maybe." He raised an eyebrow and waited. "Today was a good day, in more ways than one. Got a lot of work done, and I didn't feel like I was just along for the ride. I felt like...like you knew you could count on me."

"So what changed?"

"I don't know, exactly. I woke up, feeling..."

"What? Talk to me Babe."

I took a deep breath. "I woke up feeling like the same old incompetent Stephanie, needing to be rescued, again. I hate that feeling."

"Okay, one thing at a time. You were never incompetent, and bad dreams aren't going to make you start now. You don't need to be rescued. You're a survivor. You've been through things that most people couldn't even imagine, and you're handling it with grace, and strength. And I do count on you. I have been since this started. You have a way with people that I just don't, and an amazing instinct for uncovering the truth. If anyone can help me find Brennan, it's you."

I stared at him, stunned.

"I've been leaning on you since we left Trenton, and you've both kept me together and picked up my slack. You, Kappy and Sonny got a lot of work done today, not me. I just want you to know it's okay to lean back. That's what partners do for each other."

I walked over to him and put my arms around him, too near tears to speak. He reached around me and started rubbing my back.

"Knowing that you've been training with the guys is just a bonus. I know now that we can cover each other if it gets ugly. If Tank trusts you to watch his back, I trust you to watch mine. Knowing you disarmed Bobby...another bonus. Sexy as hell, but still a bonus."

I pulled away and smacked him on the chest, laughing. "Yeah, well, disarming Bobby was probably a fluke."

He grinned down at me. "Bobby's good, Babe. I don't think he'd allow a fluke."

I shook my head, still laughing. I walked into the living room and started stretching. Ranger joined me. Loosened up, I turned to him. "Ready?"

He gestured toward the door. "Lead on."

I waited for him to lock the door before I took off. Ranger fell into step behind me. I set a steady pace, and kept track of my route, so I could find my way back. Ranger kept silent behind me, and I smiled. Pretty soon, all I could hear was our feet on the pavement, and my own breathing. I started to relax, and quickened the pace a little. By the time we got back to the house, I was covered in sweat. I was pleased to note that I wasn't the only one. Of course, on him it looked good.

We both kept moving, cooling down. Finally I headed to the kitchen to grab some water. I poured Ranger a glass too, and he nodded appreciatively. He finished his first. "Water, Babe?"

I laughed as I finished mine. "Only after a run. At all other times I still like my fluids caffeinated, carbonated, or both."

"Guess not everything has changed."

I yawned, and headed toward the shower. The warm water made me even more tired, but I managed to finish quickly and get my hair braided. I heard the water running in the other bathroom as I returned to the bedroom. That would make this easier. I smiled, remembering the last time I fell asleep listening to him shower. It seemed a lifetime ago in some ways. I was just drifting off when I felt the bed dip under his weight. He pulled me snug up against him, my back to his front, and wrapped his arms around me.

I wrapped my arms around his. "Night, Ranger."

He squeezed me a little, whispering. "Sweet dreams, Babe."


	14. Chapter 13

Family Ties

Chapter 13

I woke to the smell of coffee and the feel of Ranger's warm hands stroking my back. I highly recommend it. It was one of the few times in my adult life I didn't wake up cranky. I stretched just a little, enjoying the feel of his hands on me.

"Babe, time to get up. Coffee's ready, and Sonny will be here in less than an hour."

I nodded, eyes still closed. I rolled over to look at Ranger. "Kay, getting up now."

His eyes were warm and amused. "Sleep okay?"

I smiled up at him. "Definitely. You?"

He nodded. "Better than I have in weeks." He held a hand out to me and I took it, letting him pull me out of bed. "What do you want for breakfast?"

I shrugged. I didn't think we had an awful lot of choices. "What do we have?"

He grinned. "I'm sure I can find something you'll eat. Let me surprise you?"

I nodded, and took a quick shower, mostly to tame my hair. As I opened the bathroom door, I smelled bacon. Ranger was making bacon? This I had to see.

I followed my nose to the kitchen. Ranger was just setting plates on the counter. He looked up as I walked in. "Good timing, hungry?"

I smiled as I answered. "Silly question, don't you think?"

"Normally I'd agree, but you've changed a lot of habits in the last couple of months."

"Not my eating habits. Well, not all my eating habits, anyway."

He looked over at me, curious. "Which ones did you change?"

I thought about it. "Not really any big changes. A little less sugar, a little more fruits and veggies."

"No more donuts?"

"Oh no, I'll never give up donuts. I just don't have them every day anymore. Thanks for the bacon, by the way."

He shook his head, grinning a little. "No need. I made it so I could watch you eat it."

I blushed. "How about you? Bacon and eggs isn't your usual breakfast."

He shrugged. "It's what we have. If we get time later, we'll have to stock the refrigerator."

"It still surprises me to see you eat that."

He chuckled. "Lesson learned in combat: Never miss a chance to eat, sleep, or piss. The next opportunity may be a long way off."

I had no reply to that, so just finished my breakfast. Ranger started to clear the table. "I'll do that. You cooked, I'll clean up."

"I don't mind, Babe."

"Well, I do. And since it's healthier for both of us to eat your cooking than mine...this is my bribe to get you to do all the cooking."

He laughed. "Deal. Thanks."

"How long until Sonny gets here?"

"I expect him any time now."

I had finished the kitchen, and was just finishing brushing my teeth when I heard Ranger let Sonny in. I hurried into the living room.

Sonny turned to me and smiled, before addressing both of us. "Saddle up, I have news."

Ranger and I looked at him expectantly.

"Seems your friends had been staying with Luz. Somehow they got wind that someone was looking for them, and yesterday they stole her truck."

"She called the police?" I asked.

Sonny grinned. "She called everybody she could think of. But that's not all they stole. Seems one of the local ranchers discovered their gate left open early this morning. After they rounded up all the horses, four were missing. They checked the barn after that, and two saddles were missing, along with their small horse trailer. At some point in the middle of the night, the local grocery store was broken into."

"What did they get there?" Ranger asked.

"Food that didn't need to be kept cold, and water."

"They've gone to ground." Ranger seemed lost in thought.

Sonny smiled. "Yeah, but they were stupid about it."

This got Ranger's attention. "How so?"

"They only took enough water for them and the horses for two, three days, tops." Sonny pulled a map out of his pocket and looked around. "I need a table."

We all headed into the kitchen, and he spread the map out. "We're here," he said, pointing. "The nearest water source is here." He pointed to what looked like a river north and east of us. "There are two ways they can go with the truck. Here, and here. From there, they can follow the river on horseback in either direction. I have a friend on the tribal police force. I'm hoping they find the truck, so we can narrow it down. Can you ride?"

Ranger nodded, then shrugged. "I'm rusty. It's been years. Babe?"

I blew out a frustrated breath. The closest I'd ever come to horseback riding was the pony rides at the local fair when I was very small. I shook my head. "Sorry."

Sonny grinned at me. "No problem, I'll find you a gentle mount, and you'll get a crash course. In the meantime, I'd suggest you call Snake and Kap. When we get to the river, you'll need two teams to follow in both directions. I'll get some food and water together, and arrange for the horses. Decide what you need to take with you. Pack light."

Ranger nodded. "Done. Call me if you here from your police friend, and we'll call you after we talk to the Imaris."

"Good enough. I better get to it." He turned to leave.

"Sonny?" Ranger called.

Sonny turned, waiting.

"Thanks. Sure you don't want a job?"

Sonny grinned. "I already have one impossible job. I don't think I can handle another."


	15. Chapter 14

Family Ties

Chapter 14

I stood, lost in thought. Okay, lost in panic. I know Ranger was counting on me, he'd even said so. But now I was supposed to ride off after these guys on horseback like, like...

"Stephanie!"

I jumped a little, startled. I guess Ranger had been trying to get my attention for a while.

I glanced at him, worried. "Sorry. You were saying?"

He held out his hand, and as soon as I took it, he pulled me into his arms. "Don't worry, Babe. You can do this." He was rubbing my back in slow circles, and I felt myself relax. I took a deep breath and nodded before I pulled away.

"Okay, so what do I need to pack?" I asked him.

"Bare minimum, leave behind anything you can do without."

I restrained an eyeroll. "Ranger." He waited, obviously amused. "Your idea of bare minimum and mine are very different."

He smiled at me, all 200 watts. "True." He threw me a backpack. "Whatever you take, it has to fit in half that space."

"What?!" I closed my eyes and took another deep breath. I could do this. I opened my eyes, and Ranger was still watching me. "Okay, exactly what are _you_ packing?"

"Two pairs of jeans, two pairs of socks, my toothbrush and a comb. Exact enough?"

I nodded and headed into the bedroom. At least I had an idea of where to start.

I opened my bag and started taking clothes out, laying them on the bed. Okay, a couple of pairs of jeans, a couple of pairs of socks, a couple of pairs of undies... I got that far and stopped, thinking about why Ranger didn't need to pack any. I shook myself out of my stupor as Ranger came into the room, and hoped my blush didn't give me away. Judging by his grin, I was out of luck.

"Might want to toss some shirts in there, Babe. I can go without, but I don't think you'd want to."

This time I didn't even try to stop the eyeroll. "I'm just trying to figure out which ones."

Ranger reached into my bag, grabbing a couple of shirts. "These."

"Any particular reason?"

"They won't look too bad after being crammed into a backpack, and I like that blue one on you. Brings out the color of your eyes."

I took the shirts from him, mumbling a thanks as I packed them. Ranger just smiled, and handed me a ziplock bag. I looked, and there were both our toothbrushes, toothpaste, his comb, and my brush. I know we slept curled up together in the same bed last night, but something about that little ziplock just struck me as amazingly intimate. I shook my head to clear it, and watched as Ranger packed his clothes in the backpack.

"What else?" I asked him.

"If you have a light jacket, bring it. It's still hot during the day, but the desert can get chilly at night." He was putting a small box in the backpack, and I stopped him to see what it was.

"Baby wipes?"

He nodded. "It's a multipurpose box. Handwash, face wash, and toilet paper."

Toilet paper. Or lack thereof, as the case may be. I hadn't even thought about that. It was a little thing, but it reminded me of just how unprepared for this I was. I wondered what else I hadn't thought about, and hoped they were all little things. I blew out a breath.

"You okay, Babe?" Shit. I'd almost forgotten he was in the room. That was a sure sign I was losing my mind. I nodded, and watched him grab another backpack. He pulled a black bag out from under the bed and started transferring things into the pack. Leg shackles, handcuffs, rope, all went into the pack. "Let me see your shoulder holster." I handed it to him without a word. He attached two small pouches to the leather, on the side that wasn't holding the gun. He quickly filled the pouches with loaded clips and snapped them closed. "Try it on."

I put it on, while Ranger watched. "No, that one is going to have to move down." I looked to see what he was talking about. He noticed my look and explained. "If we leave this top pouch where it is, every time you reach forward you'll rub it between your arm and your breast. Don't want chafing on such tender skin." He smiled as he unhooked the top pouch and moved it lower. "It won't be as easy to reach here, but it's better than being miserable. Okay, that looks better. How does it feel?"

Actually, it was quite comfortable. The weight was better balanced, with the gun on one side and the extra clips on the other. "It feels fine. Better than normal, to tell the truth."

He grinned. "Good. Move around, stretch, reach, make sure it doesn't rub or pull anywhere. We can make more adjustments if we need to, but once we leave this house you're likely to be wearing that for hours, possibly days."

I followed his instructions. I even put my jacket on, to see how it felt with that. Ranger smiled his approval. "I think we're good to go."

He nodded agreement and continued to dig through the black bag. He pulled out several boxes of ammunition, a first aid kit, a couple of stun guns, and an extra Glock, just like mine. He handed the last to me. "You can put it on your hip for now. If it gets uncomfortable as we ride, you can put it in one of your saddlebags, as long as you're sure you can get to it in a hurry."

I took another deep breath. I seemed to be doing that a lot today. "Okay. But God help us if I have to shoot from horseback."

He grinned at me. "You're still worried about this whole sleeping outdoors with no running water thing, aren't you?"

I shrugged. "A little, yeah."

"Why?"

"Well..." Ranger reached out a hand to tilt my chin up, forcing me to look in his eyes. "I've never ridden a horse in my life. Never slept outdoors, never...this entire thing is just way outside my experience, and I don't want to fuck this up."

"You won't."

"You can't know that. It feels like we're so close, and if they somehow get away from us, and it's my fault, well, the very thought of it is just intolerable."

"Stephanie." Shit, he used my whole name. "Even if they do get away from us now, it's not the end of the world. It would be a setback, sure, but we'd just have to start over. And if they got away, it wouldn't necessarily be anyone's fault. They've had good luck so far, or the guys' would have tracked them down before they ever left Trenton. If their luck holds, and ours doesn't...we start over, call in reinforcements as we need them, and get the job done. Okay?"

I smiled and tried to relax. He always seemed to know what to say to make me feel better. "Okay."

"And as far as the sleeping outdoors tracking someone goes, I've done it more than I like to think about. I'll coach you. This is a good time to lean back."

"Thanks."

He smiled, and leaned forward to brush my hair out of my face. He then turned back to the black bag, pulling several more guns out of it. He put one in the backpack, in a velcro pocket that would rest against his lower back when he had the pack on. He pulled out a shoulder holster. His carried a gun on each side. He put it on and made a few minor adjustments before adding a belt that held his extra clips. He looked long and hard at a shotgun before putting it back in the black bag. "I'm probably going to wish I had that later."

"Do you really think we're going to need all that?"

He shrugged. "I'd rather have too much than not enough."

Well, put that way...

Ranger was turning back to me. "Do you have a hat?"

I turned and pulled my Seals hat out of my bag, showing it to him. "Good. That and a pair of shades should keep the sun out of your face." He frowned at me, thinking.

"What?"

"Go wet your hair down."

Mystified, I went to do as he asked. When I came back with a towel wrapped around my head, he smiled and motioned me to turn around. He started combing through my hair, rubbing some kind of gel in it. He really surprised me by wrapping my hair in a tight french braid, then tying it with one of the leather straps he used to hold his own hair back.

"Is that okay?" He asked when he was through.

I ran my hand over it. If it looked even half as good as it felt, he'd done an excellent job. "Yeah, it's good." I turned to smile up at him. "Not a skill I would have expected from you."

He squeezed my shoulders a little before he answered. "You're not going to be able to wash your hair for several days, and I thought this would help. My daughter has very long hair, and she plays sports. She's old enough to do her own now, but when she was younger I used to do it for her." His smile was wistful.

"You miss her." I turned to face him fully, and hugged him to me.

He nodded and wrapped his arms around me on a sigh. I'm not sure how long we stood there in silence. It felt good, and I wished Pat was right and that we could make things different between us. Ranger slowly pulled back a little, then leaned down and kissed me. This wasn't a kiss like we'd ever had before. It was sweet and warm and tender, with just a hint of the heat that usually flared between us. It took my breath away, and I was shaking when he pulled away and leaned his forehead against mine. He kissed my forehead before pulling away completely. "Thanks."

I smiled up at him, hiding my confusion. "Anytime." I was thankful my voice sounded normal.

He grabbed both backpacks and headed toward the living room. I followed, asking. "Shouldn't we call Jack and Pat?"

He set the packs down by the front door as he answered. "Already done. They're on their way. Driving the speed limit, it should be a three hour drive. I called maybe an hour ago, so I'll expect them in about a half hour, forty-five minutes, tops. Now we just have to wait for Sonny's call."

As if on cue, his cell phone started to ring. "Sonny?" I asked hopefully.

He shook his head as he checked the caller id. "Tank."

"Let me talk to him when you're done, please."

He nodded as he answered. "Yo."

I walked away, trying to let them have a private conversation. A few minutes later, Ranger called me back to the living room and handed me the phone.

"Bombshell, how goes it?"

"Tank." I wasn't sure just how to approach this.

"Problem?" His voice was serious.

"Not exactly. More like a question."

"Okay then, shoot." His tone had lightened up considerably.

"Telling tales out of school, Tank?"

He sighed. "Look Stephanie, Kappy had every right to want to know something about your training and qualifications."

I didn't know if I was more relieved or aggravated that he knew exactly what I meant. "Agreed."

My agreement must have surprised him, because there was a brief pause before he spoke. "So then what..."

I cut him off. "A heads up would have been nice, so I'd have a clue on what might have been shared."

Silence on the other end of the phone. After what seemed an eternity, he finally answered. "Agreed." He sighed. "Won't happen again."

I smiled, and hoped he could hear it in my voice. "Thanks."

"So, we're okay?"

"Of course, why wouldn't we be?"

He didn't answer. "Now that I have you on the line, how is Ranger holding up?"

"He's fine. You were right, he settled down once the work started."

He blew out a breath. "That's what I was hoping to hear."

Ranger's phone beeped. Another call was coming through. I walked quickly back to the living room, and handed the phone back to Ranger.

"You've got another call."

He nodded. "Tank? One of us will call you back." He switched lines. "Yo." He walked into the kitchen where Sonny's map was still spread out. "I see it. We'll meet you there as fast as we can get there. Can you call Snake and Kap, give them an update?"

He hung up and turned to me, folding the map. "Let's grab our gear. It's time to go to work."


	16. Chapter 15

Family Ties

Chapter 15

We grabbed both packs, and Ranger adjusted the lighter one so that I could wear it without it getting in the way of either of my holsters. Once done, we got in the SUV and drove off.

"So," I started, "are you going to tell me where we're going?"

"Sorry. Tribal police found the jeep and horse trailer. Sonny is meeting us there with the food and horses. We'll have a little time for you to get a riding lesson before Snake and Kap get there."

We drove the rest of the way in silence. I was wondering what would happen when we finally caught up to them. And then I started wondering what would happen when we returned to Trenton. Ranger had been different lately, opening up more, letting me in a little at a time. I don't think I could stand it if things went back to the way they were once we got home.

My sigh got his attention. "Deep thoughts, Babe?"

I shook my head. "Not important."

He took my hand. "Tell me."

I shook my head. "This is not the time or place."

"Later?"

I smiled. "We'll see."

Suddenly he started laughing. "What's so funny?" I asked him.

"Us." He answered, still laughing. I started to smile while waiting for the rest.

He shook his head as his laughter quieted. "Here I am quizzing you while you're being evasive. Quite a role reversal."

I grinned at him. "Frustrating, isn't it?"

"Extremely. Remind me not to do that so much."

"Like you'd listen?" I asked him.

His smile turned into something softer, and warmer. He stroked his hand down my cheek. "You might be surprised."

I didn't have to come up with a reply to that, as Ranger needed to focus on the road we were turning onto. We traveled a short distance until we saw the jeep and trailer. Parked behind them, another, larger trailer that had obviously been pulled by the truck we parked behind.

I looked a question at Ranger. He shrugged. "Sonny said he'd arrange for horses."

I looked around for Sonny. Ranger spotted them first. "Maybe we should give them a minute." He inclined his head in their direction. I looked over, and Sonny had his arms wrapped around a woman, kissing her for all he was worth. From the looks of things, he was doing a good job of it, too. I couldn't actually see what she looked like, except that she had dark hair and fair skin.

Ranger caught my eyes. "Wouldn't have pegged you for a voyeur, Babe."

I blushed and looked away. We waited several minutes, until Ranger finally turned to me. "Babe, I'm going to get out of the SUV and come around to your side. I'm going to slam the door pretty hard when I get out, so don't be startled."

He did as he said he would, and I watched Sonny and the young woman jump apart at the sound of his door slamming. He opened my door, and handed me out. As I took his hand, he asked me quietly. "They have enough time to pull themselves together, do you think?" I nodded as I smiled up at him.

We turned toward them together. She had a faint blush on her cheeks, and when she looked up at us, I saw she had blue eyes. She was absolutely gorgeous, no wonder Sonny didn't hear us! Ranger looked at her, then turned to me. "She looks a lot like you, Babe. The boy's got taste, I'll give him that much."

I snorted a little. "Yeah, she's a younger, thinner, prettier version of me."

He squeezed my hand. "Younger, maybe. Thinner? Not relevant. Prettier? Not possible."

We were close enough for them to hear us, so we stopped discussing them. I pulled Ranger toward me a little. "Thanks." I whispered in his ear. He smiled and put his arm around me.

Sonny called out to us. "Ranger, Steph, you guys made good time. We weren't expecting you just yet." We stopped, and Sonny introduced us. "This is Wendy. Hon, obviously this is Stephanie and Ranger. Wendy has agreed to let you borrow her horses, and she'll give Steph a riding lesson while we wait for the Imaris."

Ranger shook her hand. "We really appreciate this Wendy. We're willing to pay for the use of the horses and tackle."

She was already shaking her head. "Tell you what. You get those people far away from here, and bring the horses and equipment back in as good shape as you got them and we'll call it even."

Ranger nodded. "Done."

She smiled up at him. "Good enough. Let me introduce you to the horses."

We followed her to the horse trailer. She opened the back, and went inside. A short time later, she led a beautiful black and white horse down the ramp. "Ranger, this is Cinder. I'll let you saddle him up and get acquainted. He can be a little skittish, and he hates the color white. He'll kick anyone wearing it. Sonny told me that wasn't going to be a problem."

I laughed. "It isn't." Ranger lifted an eyebrow at me, and I stuck out my tongue.

His smile was decidedly feral. "Careful Babe."

I blushed and looked back to Wendy. Definitely not ready to play with Batman. She giggled and handed Cinder off to Sonny. "I'll get Dancer, Steph. You and she are going to be good friends."

I let out a breath. "I hope so." I muttered under my breath. As she went back into the trailer, Sonny spoke up. "Dancer's a good choice for you, Steph. She's a Paso."

This caught Ranger's interest. "Really?" Sonny nodded.

I looked from one to the other of them, hoping one of them would explain. When neither did, I asked. "Okay, I give up. What's a Paso?"

"Peruvian Paso, Babe. It's a breed that has a specific gait that's easier and smoother on the rider. Sonny's right, this will make things much easier for you, and you won't be as sore tomorrow as you otherwise would be."

Sonny spoke up. "And I know Dancer. She's a gentle soul. She's the one Wendy uses to teach the littlest riders how to ride. My three year old nephew rides her regularly."

Things were looking up. If a three year old could do it, maybe I had a chance. Wendy returned with a pale grey horse, smaller and more slender than Cinder. "Obviously, this is Dancer. Steph, you come with me. Ranger, Sonny will show you where the tackle is. I'd suggest you and Cinder saddle up and ride a short ways, get used to each other a bit. Sonny, can you unload Annie and get her packed up and ready?"

Sonny and Ranger both nodded to her and set off to follow her instructions. I cautiously walked toward Wendy and Dancer. Wendy smiled at me. "C'mon over, Steph. You'll be fine. Sonny tells me you've never ridden?"

I took a deep breath. "Never."

"Well, we're not going to worry about teaching you to saddle and unsaddle her, Ranger will just have to do that for you. We'll focus on the riding. Dancer is a forgiving sort, so if you make a mistake or do something that confuses her, she just stops where she is and waits for a clear direction, okay?"

Wendy quickly and competently saddled her. "Okay, Steph, come over here." I walked closer, until I was about a foot away. "Let me show you how to greet her." she held her hand over Dancer's nose, and I could hear her blowing on Wendy's hand. Wendy blew back in her nose, then reached up and scratched her. "When horses greet each other, they smell each other like that. When she smells you, it's the equivalent of a handshake. If you blow in her nose like that, she'll understand that you want to be friends. When she finishes sniffing you, if you give her a little scratch, especially here...and here, she'll adore you for life." She turned back to Dancer. "Won't you, silly girl?"

Wendy turned back to me, and I approached, holding my hand like I had seen her do. Dancer started sniffing at my hand, so I blew in her nose, feeling silly. She stopped, so I scratched where Wendy had shown me. "Talk to her, Steph. She's learning you by sight and smell, let her learn your voice."

What do you say to a horse? Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter. "Hey Dancer, I'm Steph. I'm counting on you to not make me look like an idiot in front of Ranger, okay? If we can do that, things will be perfect. What do you say, do we have a deal?"

Wendy smiled, and came around closer to me. "Whenever you take a break, for the night or for an hour, check her hooves before you mount up again."

"And how do I do that, exactly?"

She took my hand. "I'll do it with you. Run your hand down her leg, like this. When you get about here, squeeze gently" she squeezed my hand, so I squeezed Dancer's leg. "While you do, tell her 'up'." Good thing the horse knew what she was doing. She immediately lifted her hoof.

"What am I looking for, and what do I do if I find it?" I asked her.

She handed me a tool, it looked a little like a deformed giant can opener. I took it from her and waited. "You see the 'V' in the middle of her foot?" I nodded. Run the edge of the tool along the ridge. I did so. "Good, now let go and move on to the next hoof." Wendy had me do the same to all four hooves.

"Why did I do that?"

She smiled. "That's the softest part of a horse's hoof. It can get mud or rocks stuck in there, causing them pain. You don't actually have to use that unless you see something, but I wanted you to practice."

I shrugged. "Okay."

"Imagine having a rock stuck in your shoe, no way to remove it, and being forced to carry a person around on your back. You'd get cranky. So would she. Now Dancer has had a chance to learn your sight, smell and touch, and she's learned that you've shown willingness to take care of her. Let's get you up on her, shall we?"

I nodded. I had to do this, I know. Ranger thought I could do this. "Okay."

Wendy must have been following my mental pep talk. "Don't worry, this is going to be a piece of cake. I'm just going to hold her steady for you. Okay, put your left foot in the stirrup, and put your hands on the saddlehorn." I followed directions. "Good, now push up with your legs, and pull with your hands, then swing your right leg behind you to the other side. Ready? Go." I did as she said, feeling waaay too high up, but proud of myself that I managed to get up at all. "Good job, Steph. Both feet in the stirrups?" I nodded. "I'm just going to lead her around a little, let you two get used to each other a bit. It'll be easier on you if you just let your body go with her motions. If you hold yourself too stiff, you'll be sore tomorrow."

She led us around at a slow walk. Okay, so far so good. Maybe this won't be a complete disaster. "Doing okay up there Steph?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Ready to take control?"

"After you tell me what to do with it."

Wendy stopped, and we stopped with her. "Okay, handing you the reigns." I took them in my hands, clueless about what to do with them. Wendy came around to the side, so I could see her.

"Okay, Steph. That is your steering wheel. The nice thing about steering a living creature is that you only need give her a hint as to what you want. Pull gently on the left to go left, right to go right. Both together while moving is slow, or stop. Both together while stopped is back up. Your knees are your gas peddle. Squeeze to get started, or to go faster. Your ignition sounds like this." She made a clicking noise. "Got all that?"

I said I did. She had me practice, going in tight circles. First at a slow walk, then a little faster. She watched, satisfied I wasn't going to break her horse.

She called me in, and Dancer and I rejoined her. This was going better than I had a right to expect, and I crossed my fingers that the trend would continue, at least until we caught Brennan.

"Okay, last bit of advice. Every so often, stand up in the saddle, give your rear a break. And if you spot who you're looking for and Ranger takes off at a gallop, all you need to focus on is keeping Dancer behind him. Shouldn't be too hard, these two are paired together a lot. Questions?"

"Nope."

"Good. Let's rejoin the boys."


	17. Chapter 16

Family Ties

Chapter 16

We rejoined Ranger and Sonny. Sonny was loading up another horse with supplies. Ranger caught my eyes. "Doing okay Babe?"

I nodded. "I'm fine. This is going to be okay."

I saw pride in his slow smile. "That's my girl."

_I wish_, I thought. But I returned his smile.

"We should head out soon."

"We aren't going to wait for Pat and Jack?" I asked.

He shook his head. "They're both experienced riders. We'll start out slow, and they'll catch up. If they haven't caught up by the time we reach the river, we'll take a break and wait."

Sonny interrupted. "You should reach the river in two days. You have water enough for four, so you'll be fine." He handed the rope from the third horse to Ranger.

Wendy smiled up at me as Sonny put his arms around her. "You'll be fine, Steph. Sonny will have his cell on if you have questions."

Sonny looked up at Ranger. "Do you want the authorities to meet you here, or are you planning to take them in?"

"We'll take them in. I'd appreciate it if you two were here to take custody of the horses though."

Sonny nodded. "Call when you have an idea of your ETA."

Ranger nodded and turned Cinder toward me. "Ready Babe?"

I had to laugh. "As I'll ever be."

I slowly followed Ranger off into the sunset. Okay, so the sun wasn't setting. It was wasn't even noon. And we were headed Northeast. But I pretended we were going off into the sunset. It was a nice daydream. Lucky for me Dancer didn't need me to do much.

Ranger slowed until we were side by side. "What were you thinking, just now?"

Here's the thing. I can't really lie to Ranger. Not convincingly anyway. The only defense I have is to evade, avoid, keep silent, or be elsewhere. "Just daydreaming." We'll start with evasion.

"Must have been a good daydream. I'm curious as to what put that little smile on your face."

I shrugged. We'll try avoidance. And silence. Crap, I was quickly running out of defenses, as I didn't have the option of being elsewhere. Oh wait! I almost forgot! Time to pull out the big guns. "How far are we behind them?" Distraction. My specialty.

He raised an eyebrow, and I could almost see him decide to let it go. "If they left early this morning, I'm hoping to catch up with them before they get to the river. We'll have to ride a little harder tomorrow to do that. By then Snake and Kap should have caught up to us, so we'll have plenty of hands."

I nodded, and we rode a long time in silence. It was so quiet out here. I heard nothing but the sounds of the horses' hooves and my own breathing. I felt myself relax. I could almost sleep like this.

"Babe?" I was startled out of my thoughts.

I turned to Ranger, who was holding out a sandwich to me. "Oh, thanks."

I ate quickly, and he handed me a bottle of water. Whatever peaceful zone I'd fallen into seemed to be staying with me, and with Ranger as well. He was quiet, as usual, but the set of his shoulders said he wasn't tense.

Our path startled a flock of birds. Dancer took it in stride, but Cinder was clearly not happy. Ranger spent a few minutes getting him back in control and calm, and I began to appreciate Sonny and Wendy's choice of horse for me. I laughed, causing Ranger to turn to me.

"Going to share?" He asked.

I shrugged a little. "Just before the birds took off, I was thinking how peaceful it was out here. Just after, I was thankful that Dancer was chosen for me."

"It is peaceful out here. And Arabian horses are notoriously moody and skittish. Pasos tend to be more steady in every way."

"So Cinder is an Arabian? What about Annie over there?"

"Annie is half Arabian, half Quarter Horse. Wendy's family breeds and trains Arabian show horses. They have a good reputation for producing champions."

I looked at him, curious. "How do you know all this? And if they breed Arabians, how did they get Dancer? Or Annie, I guess, since I wouldn't think that a half anything could be a show horse."

He smiled. "How do I know all this? Sonny, of course. The boy is definitely smitten. He talked about Wendy almost nonstop, and her family, and how brilliant and beautiful and perfect she is." His smile widened. "As for Dancer and Annie, well, apparently Annie was a rescue. She was unwanted and mistreated, so Wendy took her in. Dancer was bought because someone in the family had back surgery, and didn't want to give up riding."

"Wow. Really was nice of her to lend them out like this." I observed.

Ranger shrugged. "It was important to Sonny. She's doing it more for him than for us. And she's just as anxious as everyone else to get Brennan out of here, and away from those she holds dear."

"That makes sense." My rear and thighs were starting to get a little stiff, so I stood up in the stirrups like Wendy had told me.

Ranger noticed, of course. "Doing okay?"

I grinned at him. "I think so, but I'm hoping I can walk tomorrow." My smile became a bit of a grimace. "Otherwise you may have to lift me up onto Dancer here."

He gave me the wolf grin. "Don't worry Babe, I volunteer to massage your aching muscles when we stop for the night."

I blushed as he laughed. There didn't seem to be much to say after that, so we lapsed back into silence. I hoped that the apprehension went smoothly. My new, more competent self wanted to show off a little, while the old me worried about getting rolled in garbage again, literally or figuratively.

We rode in silence for a long while, and I recaptured that peaceful feeling from earlier in the afternoon. Suddenly, I noticed that the sun really was getting low in the sky behind us, edging toward sunset. I had no idea that much time had passed.

Ranger was lost in thoughts of his own. I studied him as we rode. On horseback, he looked like he should be on the cover of a romance novel. Well, he looked good enough for that all the time, but after the last few days, he seemed somehow more approachable. I wondered again what was happening between us, and if it would continue after this case was over and we were back home. I decided this was not the time or place to pursue that topic just as Ranger broke the silence.

"Babe?"

I turned toward him, waiting.

"We'll stop for the night soon. By the time we get the horses and ourselves settled, it'll be dark."

I nodded, and followed him as he turned a little farther North. He found a tree to tie the horses to, and turned to help me down. I had a little trouble swinging my leg over Dancer, but when I reached the ground, my legs just wouldn't hold me. Ranger caught me before I could fall.

He set me down gently a little apart from the horses. "Rest. Let me unsaddle the horses and get them watered, then we'll see what we can do for you."


	18. Chapter 17

Family Ties

Chapter 17

I watched as he unsaddled the horses, gave them water, and brushed them down. Turning to me, he said "We'll let them cool off a little before we feed them."

I nodded, and watched while he continued to work. He was unloading things from the saddlebags and using his boot to clear out a level stretch of ground. He pulled our sleeping bags out from behind the saddles, and attached them together before spreading them out. He looked up, "This okay with you Babe?"

I caught my breath and nodded. What else could I say? I wouldn't deny myself the chance to sleep in his arms if I could help it. He smiled over at me before heading in my direction. He held out his hands to help me up, and looked concerned when I winced.

"Can you stand?"

I let out a breath. "I think so."

Ranger let go of me to brush the dirt off me, then took my hand and led me to the sleeping bags. Walking was difficult, but not impossible. As we got to the edge of the sleeping bags, he let go, telling me "On your belly, Babe. Take the strain off your legs and rear for a while."

It was more difficult to get down than it had been to walk. Ranger steadied me, and took the gun off my hip and helped me off with the shoulder holster so I could lay down comfortably.

I half turned so I could look up at him. "I feel a little guilty, laying around while you do all the work."

He chuckled a little. "Don't. Your job is to relax so you'll be fit tomorrow. Are you hungry?"

"Not really."

He sighed a little as he sat down next to me. "Well then, I'm going to relax for a while before I start doing anything about dinner." He flopped down on his back next to me, and was stretching his legs toward his chin. I hadn't known he was that flexible. He was beautiful to watch.

"Sore?" I asked him.

"A little. It's been a long time since I've ridden."

"Where did you learn to ride?"

He smiled. "My father's best friend owned a stud farm for retired racehorses. I worked for him every summer when I was a kid. At first just cleaning out stables and feeding the horses every morning, then helping them get cleaned up and ready when someone was coming to see if they were interested in breeding their horses, and finally, by the time I was in high school, riding them to get their daily exercise."

"Wow. I think that's the most you've ever told me about yourself."

He shrugged a little. "I never knew it bothered you so much. Hell, I told you about my daughter, and most of Rangeman doesn't even know about her."

"They don't?" He shook his head. "Then why did you tell me?"

"You asked."

I just looked at him, confused. "You told me just because I asked?"

He rolled toward me, and started rubbing slow circles on my back as he answered. "Do you not know this?"

I shook my head. "Know what? What could I possibly know, when you never say anything?"

"Babe. I'm secretive by nature and training, and because it keeps me, and the people around me safe. I trust you. I haven't intentionally been shutting you out. I told you about my daughter because you asked. I thought you understood that. Mostly, you don't ask, so I assume you don't want to know."

I shook my head again, incredulous. "There's a lot of things I want to know. But you, you're so secretive, and I never wanted to feel like I was prying."

He took a deep breath. "I never felt like you were prying. You're one of the few people that's ever been genuinely interested in me, not just in my image."

"So why are you telling me all this now?" Hope was making my heart hammer in my chest.

"A couple of reasons. First, you apparently needed to hear it."

"And second?"

"I-" he stopped.

"Ranger." He stopped rubbing my back and met my eyes. "I'm asking."

He smiled a little before taking a deep breath. "This is probably not the time and place for this discussion, but you asked..." I nodded, waiting.

He resumed rubbing my back, and I resisted the urge to purr. "Babe, we've been friends and partners, and very briefly, lovers. I'd very much like to combine all those things, and see where that takes us."

"What does that mean?"

He smiled. "It means I want you in my life, in every way."

"I thought your lifestyle didn't lend itself to relationships." I couldn't believe I was arguing this. What was wrong with me?

"It doesn't. But you live a similar lifestyle, so you know this. And you'd understand the uncertain hours, and everything else that goes along with that."

"And you told me to fix my relationship with Morelli, and that we wouldn't be good for each other."

He sighed. "Stupid move on my part, Babe. But you were on a 'time out' from Morelli. It didn't sound like it was over. And we are good for each other. I thought that getting involved with you would make me lose my focus, somehow. I was wrong. If anything, you help me hold onto it. I worried that getting involved with me would take you away from the 'Burg, and everything that goes along with that. I should have realized sooner how hard you've been trying your whole life to break away from that mold, and I'd have worried less. And truthfully, I wasn't sure I was ready for us to be more to each other than we already were. I am now. I just don't know if you are."

I was stunned. Everything I ever wanted was right in front of me, and I was speechless.

"Steph?"

It took me two tries to find my voice. "I am too."

"But?" He heard the slight hesitation in my voice, or saw it on my face, or used his damn ESP, maybe.

"I just- I don't ever not want to have you in my life. I guess I worry that if we can't make it work I'll lose you completely."

"Never happen, Babe." He was smiling, and then he turned serious. "I'm not an easy person to be involved with. With your penchant for being in the middle of disasters, neither are you. I think we could be great together. If we try and fail, I don't want to lose you either. And we don't have to. That's entirely up to us. I just can't justify not even trying when the rewards are, well, everything. I can't promise you a picket fence and someday bouncing our grandchildren on your knee. Those things may never happen, you should know that up front. I can promise that you'll be with a man that thinks you are the most amazing, strong, vibrant woman on the planet."

He pulled me toward him, so I was almost on top of him. He kissed me softly, almost reverently. "Take a chance on me. Say yes."

I looked into his eyes and smiled. "Yes."


	19. Chapter 18

Family Ties

Chapter 18

We held each other like that for a while, each of us content and not wanting to break the mood. Two things interrupted. My stomach started growling about the same time as Ranger's cell phone started ringing. I rolled off him so he could answer.

"Yo...sounds like a plan. See you in the morning."

"Jack?"

He nodded. "He and Kap are stopping for the night. As near as he can tell, they're only a few miles behind us. They should catch up in the morning."

I nodded my understanding as my stomach started growling again.

He raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like I'd better get dinner started."

I scowled at him, but he just laughed. "Need to feed the horses anyway, Babe." He kissed me, slow and deep, before getting up and seeing to the horses.

I sighed in contentment as I watched him. I had never in my life been this happy. Of course, I could wish that Ranger and I weren't technically working and that my legs and butt were functioning the way they were meant to, but all in all, life was good.

Ranger left the horses and returned to the saddlebags, and the bags Annie had been toting. I noticed he was limping a little. "Ranger?" He looked over at me. "You okay?"

He smiled a little. "Just feeling the saddle some."

That's it. He was hurting too, and it wasn't fair to lie around and watch him work. I carefully got to my feet and limped over to him.

"What are you doing, Babe?"

I rolled my eyes. "Helping." He started to protest, but I cut him off. "Ranger, you're sore too. If we work together, we can both get some rest that much sooner."

His hand cupped my cheek, and I leaned into his touch. "Thanks. Can you gather up the stuff for dinner while I build a fire?"

I nodded. "Whatever you need. What am I looking for?"

He called out a list while he built the fire. Ranger as boy scout. Hmpf. Nope, that image didn't work for me. Ranger as survivalist? Closer.

I even helped cook. I know, I can't even cook in a fully equipped kitchen, much less over an open fire. But my help consisted of following Ranger's directions, so I couldn't screw it up too badly. We laughed together quite a lot, and I thought I'd even be willing to learn to cook if it meant I'd get to hear him laugh more often.

After dinner, we both cleaned up. I tried to protest, but Ranger insisted that since I'd helped cook, he'd help clean. I didn't really mind. I liked working side by side with him.

Fed, cleaned up, and repacked. I just needed to clean myself up. Ranger handed me the little ziplock, the box of baby wipes, and a bottle of water so I could brush my teeth. He pointed toward the tree where the horses were. "Ladies' room is that way, near the horses. Men's room that way. Armed escort available if needed."

I smiled and shook my head. "I think I can manage."

Business taken care of, I headed back to Ranger. He traded me all the things in my arms for one of his T-shirts. I look at him questioningly, and he smiled. "For you to sleep in."

I grinned at him, and wondered when he'd packed it. I don't remember him packing any shirts. Never mind, I suppose it really didn't matter. I changed and put away my clothes before Ranger got back from the 'men's room'. I snorted. If my mother could see me now, she'd never believe I was exactly where I wanted to be.

I slid carefully into the sleeping bag. I wasn't quite as sore as I had been earlier, I guess moving around some had helped loosen up my muscles. I sighed and relaxed, waiting for Ranger.

I watched him put his things away, wearing his boxers and boots. An odd combination to be sure, but he made even that look good. I watched him walk toward me, just admiring the play of his muscles in the firelight. Some of my thoughts must have shown on my face, because he asked "See something you like?"

I laughed and patted the sleeping bag next to me. "Do you even need to ask?"

He took his boots off and slid in next to me, gathering me in his arms. I couldn't help the contented sigh that slipped out of me. He tightened his arms around me.

"Ranger?" I tilted my head up to look at him. "When did you decide you were ready for us?"

He chuckled. "After the mess with the Cones."

I was startled. "What? But you never, I mean I didn't even, why did you wait so long?"

"I thought I'd waited too long. That you were with Morelli. I figured that if the life he was offering you was what you wanted, I didn't have the right to interfere."

I was confused. "But we've broken up before now."

He shook his head. "Seemed more like off-again than broken up. This is the first time you seemed free, and not unhappy about it."

"Oh." I wasn't sure what to think about that. "Why then, do you think?"

"Seeing how you handled yourself with Clyde in the warehouse, well, you impressed me. You didn't give up for a second, and stood up to some scary stuff. Saving yourself and your friends in the process, I might add. I knew then that you could handle being part of my life. I just had to wait until I had a chance to convince you."

I shook my head. "Even after I fell apart like that? I mean, I was a mess when you got there."

"No Babe, you weren't. You were still fighting every step of the way. Remember? You got Junior in the face with pepper spray. You didn't let yourself fall apart until you knew it was all over and you'd even told us about Albert and Lula."

I guess I'd been quiet for too long. "Babe? What are you thinking?"

"Something you said this morning, about tracking more people than you're comfortable with admitting..."

He sighed. "I will tell you about that if you insist, but it's not a nice story. There are going to be things I can't tell you, and there are others I'd just rather not talk about. Are you going to be okay with that?"

I nodded. "Tell me something else, then."

"Anything in particular?"

"Tell me about your daughter."

He relaxed and pulled me snug against him. "Ciara? She's perfect. She's smart, funny, capable, warm... Not that I'm biased or anything. I can't wait for you to meet her."

Hearing him say he wanted me to meet her eased some anxiety I didn't even know I had. "Her name is Ciara?"

"Yeah, and you two are going to adore each other."

"I hope so."

He let me go. "I know so. Roll over a little, Babe. I promised to massage your sore muscles."

"Ranger, you don't have to do this."

"I know, but I'm looking forward to it."

I laughed and followed directions.

Let me tell you, those pricey sports creams have nothing on warm, strong hands. Especially if those hands are Ranger's. I was drifting somewhere between sleep and wakefulness by the time he had finished.

"You awake Steph?" He whispered.

"Hmm." That was the best I could manage.

He stretched out beside me, and helped me turn so that my back was to his front and wrapped an arm around my waist.

He leaned up just a little to kiss me just below my ear, and I might have smiled. "Night Babe, sweet dreams."

I'm not sure if I answered.


	20. Chapter 19

Edited for content.

Family Ties

Chapter 19

I woke up slowly. Ranger tightened his arms around me, and I realized I hadn't been dreaming. I smiled as I stretched a little before turning over to face him.

"Morning," he said, eyes still closed.

"Mm-hmm" was the best I could manage as I snuggled in closer.

Before I could blink, Ranger had flipped us so that I was pinned under him. Not that I was trying to get away. Warm brown eyes smiled down at me. He was holding himself up, letting me breathe by taking most of his weight on his arms, leaving the muscles well defined. I couldn't help myself. I reached out to run my hands up his arms to his shoulders.

His eyes met mine as I reached up to touch his face. I traced his eyebrows, down the side of his cheek, and finally ran my fingers across his strong jawline to his chin. He dipped his head to kiss my fingertips. I smiled up at him lazily as I stroked my hand down the strong column of his throat and continued down his sculpted chest.

We both watched my hand as it trailed below his chest to explore his washboard abs, the muscles tensing beneath my touch. His skin radiated warmth, even in the chilly morning air. His sharp inhale encouraged me, so I continued.

He swore softly before throwing the top of our sleeping bag back. His eyes found mine as he lowered himself to kiss me. The kiss started out slow and gentle, but quickly became deep, hungry and demanding.

Ranger lowered himself completely, freeing up his hands...

Suddenly he lifted himself up again and looked me in the eye. "Babe, if this isn't okay with you, now would be the time to tell me." His voice was low, gravelly, and sexy as hell.

I couldn't find my own voice to answer, so I reached down between us to touch him. He stilled completely. After a moment he let out a shaky breath. "Jesus, Babe." It was half whisper, half groan. As if his words broke his paralysis, suddenly he seemed to be everywhere.

"Ranger" I breathed.

"I know. Me too, but I don't want to rush this." He followed me back down, kissing me for long minutes. His gaze slowly traveled up my body. My normal reaction would be to cover myself or turn my head. Not with Ranger. His gaze was ardent, tender. It made me feel elevated rather than embarrassed. He continued to look up until his eyes once again met mine. They weren't just dark now, but blazing with heat.

He once again held still, fighting for control. I loved that I could push him that far. The wildness I sensed that he had barely harnessed didn't frighten me.

I responded with a complete lack of inhibition and a ferocity of my own. That seemed to snap that last bit of control he was clinging to, unleashing his own wildness. As I felt him start to tremble, I slipped over the edge, taking him with me.

We held each other, hearts pounding, as our breathing began to slow. He lifted his head enough to kiss me tenderly before rolling us over and tucking me in tightly against him.

Neither of us felt the urge to speak. He stroked my back slowly, lightly as I sighed. Finally he tilted my chin up to look at him.

"As much as I'd like to stay like this all day, we'd better start thinking about getting dressed before Snake and Kappy get here."

I nodded, then stretched. Standing, I held a hand out to him. He allowed me to help him to his feet before pulling me to him for a mind-blowing kiss.

We separated to get cleaned up and dressed. I met him as he was starting breakfast over the fire. "Hungry?"

I smiled over at him. "Starving."

"Babe?" I waited. "After this is all over, what would you think of us going away together for a while. No distractions, just us."

I kissed him softly. "Sounds perfect."


	21. Chapter 20

Family Ties

Chapter 20

I was busy rolling up our sleeping bag when I noticed Ranger looking off into the distance. I turned to him. "Problem?"

He shook his head. "No, Snake and Kappy will be here in a couple of minutes."

I turned to scan the direction he was looking. Nothing... Then I saw it. A cloud of dust, coming up over the rise. They were a lot closer than I realized. At that thought, my eyes widened as I blushed.

Ranger had obviously followed my train of thought. "Don't worry querida, even if they did hear you, they'd only be happy for us both."

"Yeah but..." I didn't actually know what I was going to say. I just knew I was mortally embarrassed.

He raised an eyebrow. "Ashamed of me already?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" I was laughing. Oh well, either they heard, or not. Too late to worry about it now.

By the time I got that worked out, they were there. Ranger was the first to greet them. "Glad you made it. Breakfast is almost ready. Hungry?"

Pat answered as she dismounted. "Starving! _Someone_ decided we'd skip breakfast and leave at first light so we'd catch up to you early." That said with a pointed look at her husband.

Jack laughed easily. "Well if _someone_ hadn't kept us up so late, she wouldn't be grumpy about getting going so early." He laughed harder as she blushed. He took her reigns from her and led their horses near ours.

Pat shook her head, turning to me. "Men. And I am not grumpy."

I held my hands up. "Okay, I believe you!"

She scowled at me briefly before dissolving into giggles. "Oh hell, let me help you pack up." With the two of us working at it, packing up everything that Ranger wasn't using for breakfast was the work of just a couple of minutes.

Finished, Pat turned to me with a wicked smile. "So Steph, how did you sleep last night?"

I pretended I didn't know what she was talking about. "Slept fine, thanks." I couldn't help my grin, or the blush that accompanied it.

She laughed out loud. "Come on Steph, don't make me say I told you so."

"I won't." She raised an eyebrow at me. "All right already, you were right."

"Of course I was." We looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"Ladies? Anything you want to share?" This from Jack.

We both shook our heads as we walked back to join them.

"In that case, breakfast is ready." Ranger met my eyes and winked.

We lapsed into silence as we all dug in. The four of us all cleaned up, and packed the rest of our things on Annie. Ranger and Jack saddled Cinder and Dancer, and I remembered my lesson and checked all the horses' hooves.

"So what's the plan?" asked Jack.

Ranger turned to look at all of us. "Yesterday, we were only a few hours behind them. We don't know how long they stopped for last night, but Brennan is not an experienced rider. Hopefully he's hurting today, and it's slowing them down. If we ride at a good pace, we should reach the river by early afternoon. If there are signs as to which direction they took, we'll all follow."

Jack shook his head. "There won't be. Brennan may be a novice, but Yazzie grew up out here. She'll know enough to ride in the river for as long as they can."

"Probably." Ranger agreed. "In which case Steph and I will head upriver, you and Kap head downriver. Whoever finds them secures them and brings them in, radioing the others."

"They known to be armed?" Pat asked.

Ranger shook his head. "We have no information one way or the other. No unnecessary violence, but don't hesitate to protect yourselves, either."

We all nodded our understanding. I picked up my holsters and adjusted them as I walked toward the horses. Jack handed Ranger a walkie-talkie. "More reliable than cell phones out here."

Ranger handed it to me. "Does your cell phone have a signal?" I checked quickly before shaking my head. "If you put it in your saddlebag, will you be able to carry this?"

"No problem." I put it on the left side of my belt and took the phone off. We all mounted up without further discussion and were on our way. I think all of us were anxious to get down to business.

We rode at a much faster pace than Ranger and I had yesterday. I was nearly humming with anticipation, but kept trying to relax, telling myself it might still be a few days before we actually had them.

We ate lunch as we rode. Conversation was in brief bursts. I remembered Wendy's advice to stand more often today, and I noticed the others doing the same. Maybe an hour or so after lunch, Pat called a halt.

"Sorry boys, but we need a quick stop."

They agreed, and we stopped. "Ladies' room is that way" pointed Ranger.

"Armed escort?"

We both shook our heads as Pat answered. "We'll escort each other."

It was a relief to be on my feet again, though it felt a little odd. "How are your legs holding up?" Pat asked me.

"I'm okay. Much better than yesterday, actually."

"Gotta love those Pasos."

We took turns keeping watch while the other took care of business.

We returned to our men, and took our turn watching the horses while they took care of business of their own.

I turned to Pat. "Think we'll catch them today?"

She shrugged a little. "If not today, then probably tomorrow. Depends on how hard she's pushing him to move faster."

I nodded. Made sense. I hoped it would be today. The tension was getting to me a little.

The guys returned, and in short order we were on our way. Again we rode mostly in silence. In a little over an hour I started to hear water. The river, finally. It was probably almost another hour before we actually reached it.

"Why don't you two take a breather for a little while?" suggested Jack. "Ranger and I are going to check in both directions for a short distance to see if there's any sign of them."

Pat dismounted, and I joined her. "Best idea I've heard for a while. You two be careful."

Jack smiled down at her as she grabbed a sleeping bag. "I will if you will."

"Deal."

He and Ranger rode off together. Pat tossed the sleeping bag down without unrolling it. "I just want something soft to sit on."

I followed her example. She was right. I wouldn't have considered sitting on a soft surface to be a luxury before this trip, but it felt great to finally do so.

"Now what?" I asked her.

"Now we wait."


	22. Chapter 21

Family Ties

Chapter 21

After a few minutes, I got to my feet and started pacing. Pat watched me, not saying a word.

I glanced at her briefly. "I'm not good at waiting." I explained.

"I've heard." She said with a smile. "Anything you need to talk about?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm good." Pat tilted her head and lifted an eyebrow at me. "No, really. I just..."

She patted my sleeping bag, and I sat down again. "Just what?" she asked quietly.

I shrugged, not sure where to start.

"Feeling anxious, nervous, eager, hopeful, tense, scared, what?"

I shook my head. "All of the above...and none of it. I feel like...shit, I don't know."

"It's like waiting for a root canal."

That startled a laugh out of me. "A root canal?"

She nodded, smiling a little. "Sure. You know it needs to be done, and you know you'll feel better once it's over. But the doing part is a little nerve-wracking."

I thought about that for a minute. "That's most of it, I guess."

"So what's the rest?"

I blew out a breath. "I'm worried about how Ranger will react once we find them. Hell, I'm worried about how I'll react. I'm nervous about getting them to Trenton once we find them. Scared for Sam, and what all this is doing to her. And while I'm happier than I'd ever imagined that Ranger and I have finally gotten together, I hate that it happened in the middle of this. And what if things change between us once this is over and we're back home? Life gets in the way, and his family needs him. And my family? Forget it. I don't imagine they are going to be very supportive of us. Mostly, I just want this to be over, so we can on with figuring out how to work 'us' into our lives."

"That's a lot of worries to be thinking about at once. Maybe you should try and focus on one thing at a time. First things first, we find Brennan and Yazzie. I was worried about Ranger at first too, but I'm not now. He's got it together."

"But will it stay together once he's standing in front of them?"

She nodded. "I think so. And whatever Sam needs help with, you know she'll get it."

"True."

"You and Ranger may have gotten together under extreme circumstances, but that doesn't mean things have to change once you go back to your normal lives. Besides, you both lead kind of extreme lives, so it shouldn't be that much different."

I laughed. "Point taken."

"And true, his family needs him. But you're part of his life now. That's going to mean sharing him with his family, and friends, and the men who work for him. Do you really need your family's approval to be happy with Ranger?"

I shook my head. "No. But it would be nice."

"Sure it would. And while they may disapprove at first, the people who care about you will see how happy you are and come around. As far as fitting your relationship into your lives, you don't have to have it all figured out by morning. It's a process. Jack and I still occasionally struggle with balancing being work partners and a married couple. It gets easier as you go."

I remembered what she told me not long ago. "It works if you want it to."

She smiled. "Exactly."

She was right. I needed to focus on one thing at a time, and quit borrowing trouble. I needed to think about Brennan, and getting him and Lydia caught and back home. I trusted Ranger, and we'd figure the rest out later. I closed my eyes and tried to relax.

Soon we could hear our men coming back. We both stood. Pat looked up at Jack. "Anything?"

He shook his head. "No. We're going to take a quick break before heading in the other direction." He dismounted and took her in his arms, and I moved away, trying to give them a little privacy.

Ranger smiled in their direction as he dismounted and led Cinder over to me. "Hey Babe, how are you holding up?"

I walked to him and put my arms around his waist. "Better now, you?"

He pulled me tighter against him. "Mmm, me too. You ready for this?"

I leaned back just a little so I could look up at him. "Ready as I'm going to be."

He searched my eyes. "You're ready."

Jack called out to him. "Ranger, we should go."

"Two minutes." He spent those minutes kissing me senseless. "Just in case there's no opportunity for that later." He said on a wink.

The two of them took off in the opposite direction, and Pat and I settled in to wait.

Pat smiled over at me as I sat down on my sleeping bag. "Okay, Steph?"

"Yeah, thanks."

We were quiet, both lost in our own thoughts. I wondered what would happen to Brennan and Lydia once we were back home. Then I wondered why I cared. I thought about trials and courts and jail, and knew none of it would make things better or easier for Sam. Before I knew it, Ranger and Jack were back.

"Nothing there," Ranger was saying. "Mount up. I don't want to waste any daylight."

Pat and I quickly stowed our sleeping bags and did as instructed. After a hasty reminder to be careful, we went our separate ways.

Ranger kept us at a fairly fast pace, hoping to catch up to them before dark. It wasn't meant to be though, because dusk was approaching before he stopped, staring.

"What is it?"

He pointed as he whispered. "There. Someone's putting out a fire, see it?"

I looked where he pointed, and I did. "How can we be sure it's them?"

"I'm going to sneak up just close enough to get a look. Radio Snake and Kap and let them know what's going on."

"Done. You be careful. Just a look, right?"

He barely smiled. "Just a look. I'm not going in for a takedown outnumbered and without my partner."

I leaned over for a quick kiss. "See that you don't."

He nodded, then dismounted. At my look, he explained. "Quieter on foot. If I'm not back in two hours, head toward Snake and Kappy."

I nodded, as much as I didn't like it. He was right. If something went wrong and they had him, I'd be foolish to think I could rescue him alone, especially since they would be on guard.

Ranger turned and headed in their direction. I watched him until he faded into the growing darkness. "I hate waiting." I whispered to myself.


	23. Chapter 22

Family Ties

Chapter 22

I had a brief talk with Jack. He and Pat were on their way. I wish the conversation had taken longer. Nothing to distract me from my worrying. It was close to an hour and a half since Ranger had set out, and I was praying that he was on his way back to me.

I had dismounted over an hour ago. I thought about taking the saddles off the horses. I was pretty sure I could get them off, but I wasn't as confident of getting them back on, so I left them alone. I had walked the horses over to a little stand of trees. We'd be just another shadow in the distance.

The urge to pace was strong, but I was trying hard to keep quiet. Maybe I could hear Ranger coming back. I smiled to myself. Yeah, like that would happen. Suddenly, I did hear something. I stilled, thinking. Maybe it was Ranger. Maybe it was Brennan. Hell, it could be a mountain lion for all I knew. Did they have mountain lions here? I took a slow breath, and removed the Glock from my hip.

I checked the time. One hour, forty seven minutes. _Please_, I thought. I scanned the area. I saw nothing, and the sound was not repeated. Knowing me, I was panicking over a lizard or something. I continued to look, just in case. I noticed a form separating from the shadows, and let out a breath as I recognized Ranger.

He approached with a small smile, and nodded toward the Glock in my hand. "Good to know you were keeping alert."

I holstered the gun and looked up at him. "Yeah, well, you scared the crap out of me."

He closed the distance between us and wrapped one arm around me. Kissing me on top of the head, he whispered. "Sorry Babe, couldn't be helped. Did you talk to Snake and Kappy?"

I nodded against his chest, and felt myself relax. "They're on their way. I guess that means it was them?"

"Yes. They're settling in for the night, so we have time to wait for the Imaris."

We held each other for a while, not speaking. Finally, I pulled back a little. "So what's the plan?"

He tightened his arms around me. "It'll take Snake and Kap a few hours to get to us. I'd like to move in on them in the early morning hours, when they're in a deep sleep. Less chance of complications that way, but a long night for us."

"Okay." I was keyed up, and at loose ends. A bad combination. I wished we were somewhere I could take a run.

Ranger noticed, of course. He stepped back and held a hand out to me. "Come on, Babe. Help me unsaddle the horses. Once we get them fed and watered, we can relax for a bit. Dinner for us will be cold tonight, I don't want to risk a fire. But I promise you a hot breakfast in the morning if we catch those two tonight. Deal?"

I smiled as I took his hand. "Deal." Ranger was right, as usual. Helping get the horses settled took the edge off my restlessness, and I was calmer as we contemplated dinner.

"So what do we have that we can eat cold?" I was peering over his shoulder as he knelt next to Annie's bag.

He continued to dig in the bag. "Not much. Some crackers, peanut butter, some kind of cheese in a can, peanuts...and chocolate chip cookies."

I shrugged, "Well, at least there's dessert."

He turned to look at me, giving me the 200 watt smile.

"What?"

He shook his head. "If anyone had asked me a few months ago how you would tolerate being out in the open, unable to shower, eating like this...well, this is not what I would have expected. You keep surprising me."

I turned partially away to hide my blush. "Yeah, well, a girl will put up with a lot if there's chocolate."

He chuckled softly. "Good to know."

Ranger spread out our sleeping bags enough that we could both sit and stretch out a little. We ate what there was, and sat in companionable silence. I offered him a cookie, but he shook his head. "C'mon Ranger, I've seen you eat chocolate chip cookies before."

His slow smile answered me before he did. "That was just to keep me from tearing your clothes off in the middle of your living room."

I shook my head at him, and waved the cookie under his nose. He grinned and finally took it. "You should try to lie down and get some rest if you can, Babe. We've got at least four hours until Snake and Kap get here, and another couple of hours before we need to get moving."

"I don't think I can sleep."

He looked at me, considering. "Okay then, I'm going to try to get a nap. Wake me in two hours. Sooner if you hear anything, or even just feel something off. Or if you get tired."

"I will."

He took off his holster and laid it in easy reach before stretching out on his back. "Hey Steph?"

"What?"

"Come kiss me goodnight?"

I crawled the few feet between us. "Gladly." His hands were in my hair, and mine rested on his chest as we kissed each other breathless. I finally started to pull away before I let myself any more carried away. "Sweet dreams, Ranger."

I heard the smile in his voice. "Definitely. Two hours."

"Two hours."

It wasn't long before I heard his breathing even out as he fell asleep. I wished there was more than starlight to watch him by. I was keeping watch, but occupying myself with daydreams of real food and a hot shower. Hot shower with Ranger...better not let myself go there. I really wouldn't be aware of my surroundings.

I was surprised that I enjoyed the quiet. I glanced down at the man sleeping next to me, and wondered if he knew how much it meant to me that he'd trusted me enough to keep watch as he slept. Time passed slowly.

Finally, it was time to wake him. I put a hand to his shoulder, and he was instantly alert. "Trouble?" he whispered.

"No, it's been two hours."

He relaxed and stretched. "Good. Thanks. Your turn." I started to shake my head, but he wasn't finished. "Even if you don't sleep, stretch out and close your eyes for a little while. We may be very busy in a few hours. Gather your energy while you can."

I smiled a little. "Never miss an opportunity to eat, sleep, or piss. I remember. But I expect a goodnight kiss."

He smiled and leaned toward me. His kiss was slow and tender, and he broke from it much too soon, smiling at my pout. "I know, but I want you to sleep if you can."

Oh. Good point. I curled up on the sleeping bag, and quickly fell asleep.


	24. Chapter 23

Family Ties

Chapter 23

Before I knew it, Ranger was waking me up. "Babe, Snake and Kappy will be here in a few minutes."

I stretched. "I'm up, sort of."

He smiled and handed me a bottle of water.

I shook my head, then reconsidered. He handed me the box of baby wipes and the bag with my toothbrush and such in it. "Go ahead and clean up. It'll help wake you up."

I nodded and got up.

"Babe? Don't go too far."

"I won't."

I heard Pat and Jack arriving as I was cleaning up. They might be able to move as quietly as Ranger for all I knew, but there was nothing they could do to muffle the sounds of horses' hooves.

I joined them just as Ranger was telling them to take a quick nap, and that we'd go over what he'd seen when they got up. Pat grabbed their sleeping bags while Jack handed the reigns of their horses to Ranger with a nod. As soon as they were settled, we unsaddled their horses before feeding and watering them.

We quietly started packing our things. Ranger double checked all the equipment, both ours and the Imari's. He smiled when he noticed that the bags were nearly identical.

Ranger woke them after a couple of hours, and he saddled the horses while they got cleaned up. We gathered together.

Ranger knelt as he spoke. "They're upriver a couple of miles, on the other side of it. There's a hill with a small overhang, and they were set up to sleep under it. I'd like to come in on either side of that hill." He drew lines in the dirt as he spoke. "The river is here, and the hill is a short distance away, call it 25 yards. They have the horses staked out on this side. Stephanie and Pat, that's where I want you to be. You two need to be in position before Snake and I move in. We'll move in here" he drew another line. "They'll have two choices: stand and fight or turn and run. If they run, they'll either go straight to the horses or toward the river. If they head to the river any of us can get a clear shot at them without risking any of the others. If the horses, they'll be sandwiched between us, so we'll need to be careful. Questions?"

"See any weapons?" asked Jack.

Ranger was shaking his head. "No, but if I were them, I'd have them in the sleeping bag with me."

"Where are we leaving the horses?" I asked.

"You and Kap are going to ride yours around the hill, leading ours. You'll need to move slow once you get close, so that the noise will be mistaken for their own horses shifting and grazing."

"And if they turn and fight?" Pat wanted to know.

Ranger's smile was hard. "Then we'll give them one. No unnecessary chances."

We all nodded our understanding. "Check your weapons and grab what equipment you need, we'll head out in ten." I grabbed a set of handcuffs out of the bag, and double checked both Glocks and the ammunition.

We all mounted up, and followed Ranger for a mile or so. He and Jack dismounted and handed the reigns of their horses to us. Ranger gave Pat and me our last minute instructions. "Make a fairly large circle around the hill. Key the walkie-talkie several times when you are in position and the horses secured. Expect us about two minutes after that. If either of them wakes up before we have our hands on them they may be headed right for you, so be ready."

I looked down at him. "We will be."

"I know. Good luck, and be careful."

"Same back."

Jack grabbed Pat's hand and gave it a quick squeeze before both men faded into the darkness. Pat looked after them for a minute, then turned to me. She pointed to herself and cocked her head in the direction we needed to go. I nodded, and she led us out.

Pat slowed way, way down as we passed the other side of the hill, so I followed suit. The pace we needed to set was excruciatingly slow. I focused on watching Pat, and not thinking.

After what seemed like hours but probably wasn't, I finally saw their horses a little ahead of us. Pat stopped, dismounting, and indicated for me to do the same. We slowly led the horses closer, stopping a few yards away. Pat held her hand out for the reigns, and I watched as she secured our horses. We moved closer slowly, trying not to make a pattern with our footsteps.

Finally, we were in position. Pat picked a good one. We were between them and the horses, but in the dark, among the trees, hopefully they wouldn't even see us until they were on top of us. I felt . . . good, actually. Calm, ready. I thought of the Merry Men and smiled. _Thanks guys._ I gave Pat the thumbs up on the position, and she pointed to the walkie-talkie.

Nodding my understanding, I took the Glock out with my right hand while keying the radio with my left. I noticed Pat had armed herself as well, and smiled a little as I turned to face the hill.

A few minutes later, we heard a gunshot. My heart clenched in my chest, and my grip tightened on the Glock. Suddenly we heard footsteps running toward us. Sounded like one person. He got a little closer and I saw him. _Brennan._ He had a gun in his right hand, and was looking over his shoulder. At the last minute I stepped away from the trees and brought the heel of my hand up as hard as I could, just under his chin. Bobby would have been proud.

The shockwave traveled up my arm as he went down. Pat was on him before I could blink. She kicked his gun farther away from him, and rolled him over to cuff him. Once that was done, she flicked her eyes to me as she searched him. "Nice move. He's out for the count."

I holstered my gun and helped her search. We found a knife in his boot and bullets in his pockets, but no other weapons. Once finished, Pat pulled out her weapon and held it on him, hands steady. "I've got him. You go check on the boys."

I took a deep breath and readied the Glock. As I crept toward the hill, I heard a woman sobbing. When I reached the point that I'd have to reveal myself to come any closer, I called out. "It's Stephanie. I'm coming in."

I stepped out into the open and let out a breath. Jack was walking toward me, and Ranger was searching Lydia. I checked them both over, and neither looked injured. Lydia was cuffed behind her back, on her knees, sobbing.

Both men looked up as I approached. Jack looked a question at me. "Pat?"

"Is fine." I answered before he could start to worry. "She's got Brennan cuffed and unconscious at her feet, and could probably use a hand moving him."

He nodded and smiled before heading in that direction. Ranger had finished his search, and watched me as I approached. "You okay?"

I smiled. "Yeah, you?"

He nodded. "Fine."

"We heard a gunshot."

He shrugged, and almost smiled. "He missed."

Jack and Pat returned, Brennan over Jack's shoulder. He grinned at me. "Still out like a light and not a mark on him. Pat tells me this was your doing?"

I shrugged and nodded, while Ranger's almost smile turned into the real thing. "Damn Babe, I'm sorry I missed that."

Pat's eyes were dancing. "Yeah, it was a sweet move. You'd have been proud."

Ranger's eyes met mine. "I know. I am."


	25. Chapter 24

Family Ties

Chapter 24

Jack set Brennan down not far from Lydia. She was still sobbing. I looked from her to Ranger. "What's her problem?"

It was Jack who answered. "She's afraid to go to jail."

Pat whispered. "_She's_ afraid?"

Ranger took one look at her face and backed away from Lydia as she approached. Jack was watching his wife, concerned.

Pat stalked over to her, then grabbed her by the hair and forced her to look up. "You're scared? You think _Sam_ might have been scared, Lydia? You think she might have felt terrified as your fucking _boyfriend_ beat her and raped her?! What do you think, _Mom_, your little girl was feeling then?" Her fist was tightening in Lydia's hair. None of us were willing to interfere.

Lydia sobbed harder. "Please...don't hurt me! Please, I don't want to go to jail!"

The woman disgusted me. Apparently Pat felt the same. She lowered her voice until it was little more than a whisper. "Don't hurt you? You think Sam said that? You think she was crying, begging, pleading with him to stop? I think so. Until he beat her unconscious, anyway. When you left Trenton, no one even knew whether she'd live or not. Did you spare a thought for your daughter at all, Lydia, while you were fucking the man that tried to kill her?!" Her voice had been rising steadily, and she nearly yelled the last question.

Jack took several quick strides over to them, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Pat." His voice was quiet and soothing.

She took a deep breath, and lowered her voice again. "If you're looking for sympathy, we're fresh out." She loosened her hold on Lydia's hair before pushing her over. Lydia lay where she fell, still sobbing.

Jack took Pat's hand, and glanced in our direction. "We're going to take a quick walk."

Ranger nodded as they passed.

I turned to him. "She gonna be okay?"

The small smile was back. "She'll be fine. Pat's got a hot temper, but she wouldn't have let it get completely out of control."

I looked up at him, thinking. "And if she had?"

He shrugged. "We'd have shot Brennan, buried them both, and spent a few more days out here 'looking' for them before giving up."

I took a deep breath. "Okay."

Pat and Jack returned, Pat wiping her eyes. Jack's arms were around her, and she leaned into him. Pat flicked her eyes toward Ranger. "Sorry."

"Nothing to apologize for, Kap. I probably enjoyed that more than I should have."

She gave him a shaky smile.

Jack decided it was time to change the subject. "I've got smelling salts in our kit if we need to wake sleeping beauty over there to get moving."

Ranger shook his head. "We've got just under an hour or so until sunrise. And I promised a lady a hot breakfast. If he hasn't come around by the time we're ready to go, we'll wake him. In the meantime, he's quiet and no trouble."

"Works for me." Jack looked at the two of us. "You two keep an eye on them. I'll help Ranger with breakfast."

The two of them headed to the horses, and I turned to Pat. "You okay?"

"Yeah. A little embarrassed. I tend to get a little emotional when kids are involved."

I smiled. "Ranger told me about how you and Jack met, remember?"

She laughed a little. "Yeah. I think I shocked him. And he's not easily shocked."

Lydia's sobbing had quieted to hiccups and sniffles, which we ignored. Brennan was starting to stir, however. Nothing purposeful yet. Pat noticed.

"Steph, I'm going to go get the leg shackles. Watch them." I nodded.

Pat returned fairly quickly, the guys right behind her. She shackled Brennan's legs, then Lydia's. Neither of them spoke.

The guys were building a fire and getting everything ready for breakfast. I was starving, and from the amount of food they were getting out, I wasn't the only one.

Pat rejoined me, and we sat together, watching both our captives and our men. After a bit, Jack wandered over with cups. I took one from him and gasped. "Coffee! You are a god!"

Turns out Pat has a wolf grin of her own. She flashed it in her husband's direction before agreeing. "Yes, sometimes he is."

After a fairly large breakfast, we were on our way. Ranger had declined to feed our guests, telling them both that if they behaved themselves they'd get dinner.

Lydia was pouty, Brennan was sullen. We ignored them both. Ranger and Jack had worked out a way to shackle their legs together under the horses without interfering with the horses' ability to carry them.

Jack and Pat took the lead, being more familiar with the area. Jack led Brennan's horse, Pat led Lydia's. Ranger and I followed them, leading the pack horses. We were traveling at a pretty fast pace. I guess we were all eager to get them back to civilization.

I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Things were going too smoothly. Ranger broke into my musings. "Serious thoughts?"

"Not really. It's just that after all the worrying and waiting and planning..." I wasn't exactly sure where I was going with this.

"It seemed too easy? Anticlimactic?"

"Yeah, maybe."

"That's the way it goes sometimes. You try to plan for everything to go wrong. You have a good team that can handle it if it does. And when it goes like clockwork, you wonder if it was all necessary. But skip it one time, and it all goes to hell."

I pushed my misgivings aside. Ranger had much more experience than I did. I did have some questions though. "So what happens when we get back?"

"We turn them in to the local authorities. They'll check out our paperwork before turning them back over to us for transport to Trenton."

"How long will that take?"

"Not long. If we can get them back tomorrow afternoon, we can probably pick them up late the next morning."

"Well, at least we'll be able to get a decent night's sleep in there somewhere."

"Who said I was going to let you sleep?"

I grinned at him. "I get really, really cranky when I'm sleep deprived."

"So what are your plans after we drop these two off?"

I sighed. "A two hour shower and a twelve hour nap, followed by a big breakfast. If there's time, another nap."

He thought about this for a minute. "Can I wash your back?"

"I'm counting on it."


	26. Chapter 25

Family Ties

Chapter 25

We rode through lunch, only stopping to refill our water and take a quick break. I wondered how much longer we could go at this pace. The sun was starting to get low in the sky. Jack slowed, then stopped. He called out to Ranger. "We're going to settle in for the night soon. Another half hour and the horses won't be able to pick their footing."

Ranger nodded. "As soon as you see a likely spot."

We rode for another few minutes, slower now. Finally Jack stopped, and we dismounted. Ranger and Jack got our fugitives down and shackled to separate trees, while Kappy and I unsaddled the horses.

The four of us set up camp as if we'd rehearsed it. Soon a fire was going and the guys were cooking dinner. Ranger asked us to switch the cuffs to the front for those two so they could eat. I took off my holsters and did it while Pat held her gun on them.

Lydia was whiny at this point. "How am I supposed to eat with these things on?"

Jack was not amused. "Figure it out or starve, we don't really give a shit. Now shut up."

I wondered how long she'd been acting like the helpless victim. Maybe it was just for our benefit. Maybe she was practicing for court.

I watched Ranger as he worked. He looked tired. We all did. Lydia was sniffling quietly. I rolled my eyes. "It's going to be a long trip if she keeps this up the whole way."

Ranger grinned. "You could always stun her."

"Maybe after she eats."

We ate first, then fed them. They had to make do with spoons, as none of us were willing to give them anything sharper. I was a little creeped out that Brennan still hadn't spoken a word. He'd thrown a couple of dirty looks in Lydia's direction, but that was it.

Kappy and I cleaned up and offered to take first watch. We both agreed we'd be more alert now than after a few hours sleep. The guys agreed, eventually, and Pat and I took turns tucking our men in.

Ranger and Jack had been asleep for a couple of hours before Brennan finally spoke up, complaining that he had to go to the bathroom.

Pat just looked at him. "Ranger offered to let you up after dinner so you could go. No way am I waking either of them up, and no way am I letting you up. Hold it or go in your pants."

He turned to me, and I just shook my head. "Bitch. You're the one that cold cocked me, aren't you?"

"I am. I'm not a toddler who can't fight back."

His smile was cruel. "Oh, she tried. I had to shut her up. I wonder if you'll scream like that when I have you under me?"

I felt sick. He kept talking. "First I'm going to break your arms and legs, so you can't fight. If you're lucky, I won't snap your neck when I'm done. That's what I should have done to that little brat."

I'd heard enough. I handed my guns to Kappy, and walked to the bags.

"Scared, little girl? That's just the way I like them. Maybe we should invite your friend to our little party." He stopped talking abruptly as the stun gun touched him, but by the time he noticed it, I was discharging it.

"Thanks." Said Pat, handing my guns back.

"No problem."

"Well, I'm not tired now."

"Me either."

We talked of little things. I learned she had a brother in Jersey. He worked at the state prison. "He's the one that advised me to call Rangeman when I was there."

I told her about my family, and Connie and Lula. By the time we woke the guys up, we'd exchanged basic histories. I'd also stunned Brennan three more times, and he had indeed wet himself.

Ranger stood and stretched, blinking at his watch. "You let us sleep too long."

I shrugged. "We can ride half asleep while you two take charge of them. Besides, you needed it."

He didn't argue further, just got cleaned up and met Jack near the fire. Ranger was the first to notice Brennan. "Babe?"

Pat spoke up before I could. "Stunning him was the only way to shut him up."

I broke in. "Shutting him up kept us from shooting him."

Ranger and Jack looked at each other. Jack turned to us. "What did he say?"

Pat shook her head. "Ask me when I get up. If I go into it now I'll be too mad to sleep."

Ranger tucked me into the sleeping bag. "Breakfast in three hours. Sweet dreams." His goodnight kisses could practically guarantee that.

The next thing I knew, Ranger was already waking me up. "Babe. Breakfast in ten minutes. Thought you'd want to get cleaned up a little first." It took a minute for his words to register. I was really, really tired.

I stumbled up and cleaned up as best I could. I was out of clean clothes, and I really hoped we'd get out of here today. I wanted a shower and a real bed. We hurried through breakfast, and packed quickly. Brennan gave me dirty looks as Ranger and Jack got him secured on his horse, but kept quiet in front of the guys. Even Lydia was quiet today, and I counted that as a blessing.

This time, Jack and Ranger took the lead with our fugitives behind them, while Kappy and I followed. I wasn't kidding about riding half asleep. Even with the pace we were keeping, I wasn't really all the way awake.

We stopped for a very quick lunch. Ranger called Sonny to let him know we were on our way. "How much longer?" I wanted to know.

Ranger smiled a little. "Two hours, three at the outside. I had Sonny call the Phoenix PD and explain the situation. They're supposed to have a car waiting for these two, so we won't even have to drop them off."

We remounted, and I got a little bit of a second wind just knowing it was almost over. A little more than two hours later, I saw trucks in the distance. As promised, there was a squad car there for Brennan and Lydia. Ranger and Pat spent a few minutes with them going over the paperwork while Jack and I turned the horses back in to Sonny and Wendy.

I asked about the horses Brennan had stolen, and Wendy assured me that she and Sonny could return them for us. Sonny didn't say much, just listened, his arm around Wendy's shoulders.

Ranger and Pat joined us, having turned over custody and gotten a receipt for them. "We should be able to pick them up tomorrow anytime after one." Pat told us.

Ranger turned to Wendy and Sonny. "We really appreciate all your help. We're exhausted and need to get some rest, but I'd like it if you could join us for lunch tomorrow before we leave town."

Sonny turned to Wendy. "Can you get away?" She agreed, and Ranger promised to call as soon as we figured out a time and place.

Ranger and I got into the SUV after promising Pat we'd call her the minute we woke up. It felt like weeks since we'd parked here. Ranger had us on the road and headed back to town.

"Why don't you lean your seat back and get a nap, Babe? It'll be a couple of hours at least until we make it back to the hotel." I took his suggestion and leaned the seat back. I sighed a little. Even the seat was more comfortable than a sleeping bag. I think I was asleep before I finished the thought.


	27. Chapter 26

Family Ties

Chapter 26

Ranger was trying to wake me. "Babe, we're here." I struggled to open my eyes, as he undid my seatbelt and helped me out of the SUV. We walked to the room with me leaning on Ranger heavily.

Ranger let me lean on him all the way to the bathroom, where he started the water running before going out to get the rest of our bags. "Can you manage from here?"

I nodded and started getting my clothes off. I fumbled with the leather tie that had managed to hold my hair all this time before finally getting it out. It was a relief to take down the braid, and I was scratching my scalp as I stepped into the shower.

Once under the spray, I just stood there for several minutes, letting the hot water work out the kinks. I stuck my head out of the shower, intending to ask Ranger to bring in my bag of bathroom stuff, and saw it sitting on the counter. I made a long arm and grabbed it. I shaved everything that needed shaving and was about to start washing my hair for the second time when Ranger stepped in with me.

"Turn around." I followed directions as he plucked the shampoo bottle out of my hand. Seconds later his strong hands were massaging my scalp. I couldn't help the sigh that slipped out of me.

He finished with my hair, and gently but firmly washed the rest of me. I relaxed and just enjoyed being taken care of. He washed quickly before drying us both and tucking me into bed. "Sleep Babe, you're exhausted." I felt the bed dip under his weight, and rolled over to snuggle in.

It was fully dark when I woke, slightly disoriented. Ranger and I were still wrapped around each other, and I smiled a little as I tried to sneak out from under his arm.

He tightened his arm around me. "Babe." His voice was husky from sleep.

"Shh, go back to sleep. I'll be right back."

He let me go, and I headed to the bathroom. Business finished, I walked back into the bedroom to find Ranger awake and waiting for me. We'd turned the air conditioner on full blast, and I shivered a little as I got back into bed.

"Cold?" He asked me.

"A little."

"Want me to warm you up?"

I reached for him with a smile.

The next time I woke up, sunlight was streaming through the window. I blinked at the brightness as Ranger walked out of the bathroom, still damp from his shower.

"Hey Babe, you awake?"

"Mmm, awake some."

"There's fresh coffee, and we're meeting the Imaris and Sonny and Wendy for lunch in an hour and a half."

"Lunch? What time is it?"

"Just after ten."

That brought me more fully awake. "Ten? You mean to tell me I've been sleeping, well, mostly, for what, like sixteen hours?!"

He smiled down at me. "You needed it."

A few minutes later I padded out of the bathroom and helped myself to some coffee. Ranger spent several minutes kissing me good morning, and the last of my sleepiness faded away. I rubbed my hand across his face.

"I know. I need to shave."

I followed him to the bathroom, sipping my coffee while I watched him. "So how exactly does this work when we pick them up this afternoon?"

"Well, technically Snake and Kappy are picking them up, as they're licensed here and we're not. Once in their custody, they sign them over to us and we take them back to Trenton."

"What time are we leaving?"

"The plane gets here from Trenton at 1:30, so anytime after that." He finished shaving and nuzzled his chin against my neck. "Better?"

"Mmm, much." We spent a few minutes enjoying each other before I pulled away with a sigh. "I need to get cleaned up if we're going out to lunch."

He released me after one last kiss. "You want me to pack for you while you're in the shower?"

"You don't mind?"

"Why would I?"

"That would be great. Let me just grab some clothes."

I took a long shower. I felt better than I had for a long time. Well, a ton of sleep and Ranger could do that for a girl. I stuck my tongue out at my reflection. It didn't stop the smile.

Hair tamed, makeup on, I was ready to take on the world. Or at least face it. Ranger was on the phone when I walked back into the bedroom.

He was smiling. "No that's great, Tomas. Tell her I'll see her tomorrow, and give her a big kiss for me." He disconnected.

"Sam?"

"Had her first solid food today. She's already bugging her Dad for a burger and some fries."

"A girl after my own heart."

"I'm going to visit her tomorrow, do you want to join me?"

"Are you sure she's up to having a stranger visit?"

"I'll ask Tomas in the morning."

"If she's up to it, I'd love to."

We loaded our bags into the SUV and checked out of the hotel.

A few minutes later we pulled in the parking lot of a Chinese restaurant, the Green Dragon. I looked a question at Ranger.

"It's the one place Pat could think of that would have something for everyone."

"Works for me."

We entered the restaurant to find everyone else already waiting for us. Ranger updated everyone on Sam's condition, adding to the celebratory feeling.

We ate and laughed for well over an hour. I was glad I had the chance to get to know everyone a little better. Even Sonny and Ranger relaxed around each other.

All too soon, it was time to get back to work. I exchanged numbers with Pat and Wendy, and promised to keep in touch.

We followed the Imaris to the police station, and waited outside while they assumed custody. Ranger handed me my holster, and I noticed he'd already put his on.

After what seemed like an interminable wait, Jack and Pat came out, escorting a handcuffed pair. Brennan and Lydia looked none the worse for wear, and I found myself briefly wishing that Odie and his crew had found them.

My wishing was cut short by Lydia attempting to run down the street. Pat took off after her. Ranger started to follow, but Jack held him back. "Let her go."

We watched as Pat cut the distance between them, then my jaw dropped as Pat leapt into the air to deliver a kick to the middle of Lydia's back. As Lydia's hands were still cuffed behind her back, she went down hard.

Pat pulled her up by the back of her neck and brought her back to us, half dragging her in the process. Lydia's clothes were dirty and slightly torn in a few places, but it was her face that caught my attention. Her nose was bleeding, her cheek was scraped up, and she was crying again.

"She broke my nose!" she sobbed.

Pat's eyeroll was worthy of a Jersey girl. "God, I hope so."

Ranger almost smiled. "Feel better?"

Pat's grin was unrepentant. "Yes, thanks. That was most...satisfying."

Her eyes turned to me. "Nice move." We high-fived each other while the guys got the prisoners secured in the SUV.

"Thank you." She gave a little bow, and held out a small scrap of paper. "Listen, Steph, here's my brother Javi's number, just in case you need an in at the state prison."

"Thanks." I took it from her. I had no idea if I'd ever need it, but it was always good to have more people on my side. I hugged Pat, then Jack. Ranger hugged Pat, then did that handshake/back pat thing that guys do.

After promising again to keep in touch, we headed out to the airport. The private jet we'd arrived in was waiting for us. I glanced over at Ranger. "Some friends you have."

Ranger's amused eyes met mine. "I have all kinds of friends. The plane actually belongs to Tomas. He lets me use it from time to time."

The door opened and the steps lowered as we approached the plane with our prisoners. Tank stuck his head out the door. "It's about time you got here!" He descended the stairs and helped secure our silent pair on the plane.

Prisoners and baggage stowed, we settled in for the flight. Tank turned to me. "You look good, Bombshell. You get enough rest?"

I smiled over at him. I appreciated his discretion in the way he asked, in case I hadn't yet told Ranger about the nightmares. "Yeah, I slept more last night than I have since, well, ever, I think. And I've only had one nightmare the whole time we've been here."

Ranger's eyes snapped to his best friend. "You knew?"

Tank returned his gaze calmly. "Yes. It wasn't my place to tell you. Stephanie is a friend. I'd no more tell her secrets to you than I would tell yours to her."

Ranger relaxed immediately. "No, of course you wouldn't."

The three of us made small talk for a while, and Tank updated Ranger on what had been going on at Rangeman during his absence. I tuned out most of this.

"Babe?"

"Hmm? Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

"I was just asking how you'd feel about continuing to work my skips with Tank. It would free me up to help with Brennan's investigation and a couple dozen other things I've neglected since all this started."

I glanced at Tank. "That work for you?"

He grinned at me. "Of course. Come on, it'll be fun."

I turned back to Ranger. "Sure."

"Good. Thanks."

I tuned out again for a while, thinking of all the things I needed to do once I got home.

There was an SUV waiting for us at the airport, Hal behind the wheel. We turned Brennan and Lydia in, and they were formally charged and arrested. Brennan was charged with attempted murder, and Lydia with child endangerment.

Tank and Hal had left while Ranger and I waited on the paperwork. Someone had delivered his Porsche to the station though, and I smiled as I slid in.

"Where do you want to go, Babe?"

I sighed. "Home, I guess."

Ranger drove us out of the parking lot. "What are your plans for the rest of the evening?"

"Well, I need to pick up Rex, and I need to make a grocery stop, and I need to call my family and let them know I'm back, and do some laundry. You know, stuff like that."

"Mind if I come over later?"

I took his hand. "Of course not. You don't need to ask, just come over whenever."

Ranger reached into the glovebox of the Porsche and handed me a remote on a keyring, identical to the one I'd used to get into his apartment months ago. Pressing it into my hand, he brought our joined hands up to brush a kiss across my knuckles. "Same back."


	28. Chapter 27

Family Ties

Chapter 27

Six weeks later...

I was smiling as I headed into the bonds office. I'd gotten a late start, as Tank and I hadn't gotten our skip in until very late last night. Splitting the bounty with Tank on Ranger-level skips had done wonders for my income. As had all the other jobs the guys called me in for. My training continued, and I was really starting to enjoy it for its own sake.

Brennan and Lydia had both been held for trial without bond, given their history of running. I was relieved. I really didn't want to have to do that all over again. Then it turned out that Brennan had a little time left on parole for a previous violation, so was returned to prison.

Ranger had been trying to talk me into working for Rangeman full-time. Things had been going so well for us that I was a little reluctant to rock the boat. I worried that it would change things between us. Last night while waiting for the skip, Tank asked me to reconsider. He'd like to make us permanent partners. I was thinking about it. Whether I did or not, I'd never forget the offer. It was a huge compliment.

I strolled into the office, causing Lula and Connie to pause briefly in their bickering. Lula narrowed her eyes at me. "Girl, what are you so happy about today?"

I smiled. "Is there any reason I shouldn't be?"

"Hmpf. Well, I guess finally hookin' up wit Batman would make any woman happy."

I turned to Connie. "Any files for me?"

"I got files, but Vinnie doesn't want you working on anything until you bring in Trevor Beaumont. There's only three days left and he stands to lose a lot of money."

I carefully laid Beaumont's receipt on her desk. "Hmm, looks like I'm ready for those files."

She picked up the receipt. "You got him?"

Lula spoke up. "Maybe _you're_ the shit!"

I laughed out loud. "On a good day."

Vinnie poked his head out of his office. "Christ, what's all the noise about?"

Connie waved the receipt in the air. "Steph brought in Beaumont."

Vinnie stared at me in disbelief. He broke out of his trance to say "Nice. So get back to work, we're getting backlogged here!"

Connie wrote out the check while I skimmed through the files. "You staying for lunch?"

I shook my head. "Not today, got a hot date for lunch."

Lula grinned at me. "Hot is right! Whew!"

I left the office, rolling my eyes at Connie and Lula fanning themselves. If they only knew the reality was so much better than they imagined...

I parked in the Rangeman garage and headed for the elevator. I was excited about lunch. Ranger and I hadn't seen much of each other for a few days. Seemed like our schedules just didn't coordinate. After bringing in Beaumont, I decided against going to Ranger's. I knew he had an early meeting and I probably wouldn't even see him when he left. I had arrived home to find him asleep in my bed. He'd been gone when I woke up, but he'd left me a note asking me to lunch.

The elevator stopped, and I walked toward Ranger's office. I paused when I noticed Tank, Bobby, and Lester not far from the door, strange looks on their faces.

Bobby was the first to speak. "I don't know if you want to go in there just now, Bombshell. He's been yelling for at least half an hour."

My eyebrows rose as I thought about it. I don't think I'd ever heard Ranger yell. Judging by the worried looks on the guys' faces, it wasn't a common event.

I stared at the door for a minute, making up my mind. A loud crash from behind the door decided me, and I picked up my pace.

"Bombshell-" Lester started, before Tank shushed him.

"Leave her be. She knows what she's doing."

I hoped he was right. I opened the door as the guys walked away. Ranger hadn't even noticed. He was glaring at what remained of the phone as it rested in pieces on the floor.

"Ranger?" No response.

"Manoso!" I barked out. He started, then turned to me. I could almost see him trying to regain control of himself. Finally he assumed his blank expression and waited.

"Tank" I called out.

He appeared at the door at a trot. "Steph?"

I gestured vaguely in Ranger's direction. "He's off the clock starting now."

Tank nodded. "I'll cover."

"Thanks, big guy."

"No problem."

Ranger chose this moment to speak up. "Babe, I can't just-"

I cut him off. "You're not fit right now."

He took a deep breath, but didn't argue. I took his hand and pulled him to the elevator. Once inside the seventh floor apartment, I called Ella and asked for lunch in half an hour.

I turned to Ranger and pointed to the living room. He nodded, and I followed him in. "Okay, you've got half an hour to tell me what's going on."

He took a deep breath, and then another. "I was on the phone with the DA's office."

"Okay."

"Do you know how Sam was burned?" I shook my head as he continued. "After he...when he had already done the other damage, he filled up a tub of hot bleach water. Trying to get rid of the evidence. He held her in there. The docs say she was unconscious at the time."

"How do they know?"

"That water was hot enough to cause serious burns. If she had been conscious, she would have struggled, no matter how afraid she was. But she didn't have any splash burns from a struggle. And he held her by her left arm, which is why that one isn't burned at all."

I took a deep breath and shuddered. "And the call from the DA's office?"

"It worked Steph." I looked at him, confused. "They say they have very little physical evidence. They're worried they won't get a conviction."

Oh no, this was bad. "So what are they planning?"

His jaw tightened. "To use a little girl, traumatize her all over again. I should have killed that bastard when I had the chance."

"Ranger." He regained his focus. "What, specifically, does the DA's office want to do?"

He shook his head. "Sam's been seeing a counselor."

I'd met her. "Sandy."

"Yeah, Sandy. Sam hasn't gone into detail about what happened to her, and Sandy doesn't think she'll be ready to any time soon."

"Okay."

"The DA's office wants Sandy to push her to do so, and they want it on videotape."

I understood his rage, now. I felt it myself. I forced myself to be calm. Ranger and Sam needed me to think of a way out of this.

"Can Lydia be pressured to testify against him? Would the DA's office make a deal with her?"

"You want them to make a deal with Lydia?"

I shrugged. "Her parental rights have been severed, right?" Ranger nodded, obviously wondering where I was going with this. "So she'll never be able to see Sam again. Well, if it gets Brennan convicted and keeps Sam out of it, we should at least try."

"You're right."

"Of course I am. Here's what we do: You tell Sandy to stall the DA's office. You start solidifying whatever evidence there is, and have someone feel out the possibility of a deal for Lydia. I'm going to start backtracking Brennan."

"What are you looking for?"

"I don't know, exactly. Maybe an ex-girlfriend that left him because he hit her kids, some kind of history that relates, anything, really. Would Kappy and my testimony be admissible, on how he bragged about it and made threats?"

"I don't know."

"Find out."

"I will." He stood and pulled me into his arms. We held each other for a long time, not saying a word.

Eventually, Ella brought our lunch. By unspoken agreement, we talked of light subjects while we ate. We were piling up our dishes when he spoke of it again. "Babe, I know I had planned to take you out to lunch. After that damned call from the DA's office, I wasn't even thinking about it."

I smiled up at him. "Don't be silly. We'll just say you owe me a lunch out. Well, I better get busy if I'm going to find anything in time to be useful."

"Yeah, and I guess I have some calls to make. I think I'll call it a day fairly early. Will you be here tonight?"

"Absolutely." I kissed him goodbye and headed back down the elevator.

Once I pulled out of the garage, I pulled out my phone. Time for the part of the plan I didn't mention to Ranger.

"Javi? Stephanie Plum. Listen, can you meet me somewhere we can talk? I need information and a favor."


	29. Chapter 28

Family Ties

Chapter 28

Javi and I agreed on a time and place later this evening. I had some time on my hands, so I went to the bank and deposited the check for Beaumont. I'd have to write Tank a check for his share.

I decided I could get a few more stops out of the way before meeting with Javi, and headed over to Hancock Street.

Lauralene Taylor answered the door. She looked at me with tired eyes. "You're the bounty hunter that hauled off Anton."

"Yes, I am. May I speak with you for a minute?"

"You told the cops to go easy on me that night?"

I nodded. I had actually told Morelli that she could use a friend.

"So now you looking for a little payback, or what?"

Francine Taylor walked up behind her daughter. "Lauralene, let the woman in. It could have gone a lot harder on you. You could have been charged with harboring or aiding or being an accessory or whatever they call it. At least see what she wants."

Lauralene nodded grudgingly and stepped back from the door. I heard a baby crying, and she left the room as Francine led the way to the living room.

"Would you like some coffee?" The gracious hostess.

"That would be lovely, thank you." Mom would be proud I'd remembered my manners. Then I thought about the plan and changed my mind. If she ever caught wind of _that_, manners wouldn't be high on her priority list.

Lauralene returned carrying a very small baby. She smiled as she looked down at her child, and I was pleased to see that not everything about her had turned hard and bitter.

"So, why did you ask them to go easy?"

I shrugged. "You were young, scared, and about to have a baby. I'd just taken the baby's father to jail. I didn't think you needed any more trouble."

She nodded absently. "Thanks. So what do you want now?"

Francine returned from the kitchen as Lauralene asked the question. Francine handed me a cup of coffee, and they both waited for my answer. I blew in my coffee and took a sip, stalling. I wasn't sure how to answer.

Hours later, I'd finished my errands and was on my way to meet Javi. I was hurrying because I was running behind. I hadn't found anything useful about Brennan, but I did get the names of a couple of ex-girlfriends that had moved out of the area. I'd called them in to Rangeman, so hopefully the guys could track them down soon. With luck, maybe they would have something to tell us. But this was about Sam, and I wasn't about to rely on luck.

I thought about Sam as I drove. I hadn't met her the day we came back to Trenton, but a few days later, after Tomas had time to check with her counselor. Tomas had told her that I helped her uncle Carlos catch the bad man who hurt her and took him to jail. She'd smiled her sweet smile at me and called me 'Aunt Stephanie' the minute we'd met.

She and Tomas were staying at the bat cave while Tomas house hunted. I'd met the rest of his family, a few at a time, as they visited Sam. Well, everyone except Ciara. I had spoken to her on the phone a few times, and Ranger and I planned to go to Miami so we could meet in person, as soon as we were sure things were settled for Sam.

I smiled when I thought of the bat cave. I wouldn't say it was a disappointment, but it was just a very nice house in a very nice neighborhood. Ranger didn't usually spend much time there, but we had taken to staying there most weekends and giving Tomas a hand with Sam's care. She was sleeping in Ciara's room. The casts were off, and the skin grafts were completed, but she still needed help getting around, and dressing changes to her new skin. Either Ranger or Tomas had hired a nurse at first, but Sam quickly reached a point that any of us could take care of her needs. And with the nearly constant stream of relatives dropping by to see if she needed anything, she didn't lack for anything.

I pulled my mind back to current business as I pulled into the parking lot of the diner to meet Javi. I hoped he would be willing to help. He didn't know me, but Pat had called him before the plane had touched down in Trenton. He hadn't sounded surprised to hear from me, and I was taking that as a good sign.

I took a deep breath as I opened the door. I considered saying a prayer that all would go well, but thought that might be sacrilegious.

I scanned the restaurant as I entered. It was almost half full, but I spotted Javi right away. He had the same nose and high cheekbones that Pat did. He smiled as we made eye contact, and it was Pat's happy grin.

Javi stood as I approached, and held out his hand. "Stephanie Plum? I'm Javi."

I smiled up at him as we shook hands. "Nice to meet you, Javi. Thanks for agreeing to see me, especially on such short notice."

His smile became a grin as we sat down. "Had to, big sister's orders." I looked questioningly at him, and he continued. "I called her after I talked to you this morning. She told me, 'Whatever she needs, Skip, you do it.' She also told me about the case you recently worked together, and I gathered what information on Brennan I could."

I almost laughed aloud. With this level of preparation, he should be a Rangeman. "Good. That's exactly who I wanted information on."

He nodded for me to continue. "I understand he's being housed in general population, why is that?"

He shrugged a little. "The parole violation was for an assault charge, and the current charge is attempted murder. I understand there's talk of filing charges for sexual abuse, but until that happens they won't move him."

"That's all I needed." And just what I hoped to hear.

Javi looked at me, assessing. "That was easy enough. Okay, that was the information, what's the favor?"

I met his eyes and hoped for the best. "I need to have a private conversation with Anton Ward."


	30. Chapter 29

Family Ties

Chapter 29

Javi stared at me for a long minute. "Steph, you know he's a gangbanger, right?"

I nodded. "I know. I brought him in."

"And what do you need to talk to Ward about?"

I studied him as I thought. If I told him the plan, he might go along with it. On the other hand, he couldn't get in trouble for prior knowledge if he didn't have any. "Best you don't know, I think."

His stare was even longer this time. Finally, he seemed to make a decision. "How private do you need this conversation to be?"

"No record of it, and no ears to hear it."

He thought about it for a minute. "I'll need to rearrange the duty list a little. I'll call you tomorrow and let you know when I have it arranged."

I let out a breath. "Thanks."

His smile came back. "Just following orders."

We paid for our sodas and made small talk as he walked me out to my car. When we reached it, he had one more question for me. "Hey Stephanie, you sure you know what you're doing?"

I nodded. "I'm sure, but thanks."

We said our goodbyes and I headed back to Rangeman. I was starving, and couldn't wait to get back. I was looking forward to an uninterrupted evening with Ranger.

Just as I thought that, my cell phone began to ring. "Yo." I knew who was calling.

"Hey Babe, you headed back soon?"

"On my way now, actually. Miss me?"

I heard the smile in his voice. "Of course. Do I get to show you how much?"

I laughed. "Only if you feed me, I'm starving."

"I think I can manage to do both."

"I'm looking forward to it."

His voice was deeper and huskier. "Me too, Babe. Hurry."

"Be there in ten."

I pulled into the Rangeman garage smiling. Tank was just getting off the elevator. "Hey Bombshell, find anything out today?"

"Just the names I called in. I'm hoping the guys can get a lead on where these women are located now."

"They will."

I nodded. "Hey, thanks for today."

He smiled. "No problem. I don't know what you said to him, but he was much better when he came back. That's only the second time I've seen him lose his temper like that, and the first time...well, you weren't around to cool him down."

I shuddered at the thought of an out of control Ranger.

Tank noticed. "Exactly."

"Hey, have you thought any more about joining Rangeman?"

"I'm still thinking about it."

"You know, it wouldn't change anything. You're already doing the majority of the work with us. You'd just have health insurance, retirement, and the option for more backup than just me if you needed it."

"I know. And the reasons I'm hesitating have nothing to do with work."

"Worried that things between you and Ranger will get weird just because he's your boss?"

I sighed. "Yeah."

He shook his head. "Never happen. Neither of you would let it."

I wished I was as sure of that as he was. With a last reminder of my appointment with Bobby in the gym in the morning, Tank headed home.

I smiled to myself as I rode the elevator up to the seventh floor. Ranger was waiting for me in the doorway. The minute I stepped off the elevator he was striding forward, then pulling me into the apartment before kissing me until I was dizzy and could barely breathe.

"Ella will be here in ten minutes with dinner. I intend to spend them just like this." And he lowered his lips to mine again.

I heard a knock on the door, but it seemed unimportant, and I sighed in disappointment as Ranger pulled away. Ranger grinned down at me. "That'll be Ella, Babe."

Huh? Oh yeah, dinner. I attempted to pull myself together as Ranger let her in.

"How was your day, dear?" She asked.

I shrugged. "Found a little information, but it's too soon to see if it's any use to us."

She patted my shoulder. "I'm sure you and Ranger will figure it out."

I smiled at her confidence. Ranger tended to inspire that in people. "Thanks."

Ranger and I sat at the table for dinner. Neither of us paid much attention to the food. Ella cooked it, so I'm sure it was wonderful, but I don't even remember what it was. All I knew is that I needed to finish fast and get back in Ranger's arms.

Judging from the look in his eyes, he was thinking the same thing. He just set down his fork and pulled me from the table. In the space of a heartbeat he had one hand in my hair while the other was quickly removing my clothes. "We'll eat later." He murmured against my lips.

My hands were trying to get him undressed as fast as they could. "Much later." I agreed.


	31. Chapter 30

**Warning: Some ugly stuff in this chapter, including a recap of Sam's injuries**

Family Ties

Chapter 30

I woke slowly, smiling. He'd definitely missed me. I stretched a little, trying to ease the ache of overused muscles. Okay, so I'd missed him too. Ranger leaned over the bed, kissing me good morning.

"Morning Babe, I've got to go to work. Coffee and breakfast are here, do you want me to bring you some before I go?"

I smiled up at him. "You're willing to bring me breakfast in bed?"

He shrugged, then gave me all 200 watts. "Figured you might need some recovery time this morning."

I threw a pillow at him as I laughed. "Smug bastard!"

His laughter reached me as he walked back into the kitchen. He knew he was right, too. It was infuriating. Not that I was about to complain.

He did bring me breakfast in bed. I relaxed and enjoyed being pampered. He pushed a stray curl out of my face. "What are your plans today, Babe?"

"Sparring with Bobby at nine, lunch with the girls, and following up whatever I can find on Brennan. You?"

"Contract negotiations this morning, lunch with the DA, hunting a couple of skips this afternoon. Should be home at a decent hour. Dinner?"

"Dinner is good. In or out?"

"Your choice, Babe."

"Hmm, let's see how the day goes."

"Let me know." One last kiss, and he was gone.

I enjoyed my breakfast, then took a quick shower. I'd need another after being tossed around by Bobby, but definitely needed one now as well. The hot water eased the last of my aches, and I felt human again by the time I was dressed. I was just putting my shoes on when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Steph, it's Javi. Is this afternoon too soon?"

"Wow, that was fast. No, not too soon at all. What time?"

"Three o'clock would be perfect. Can you get here by then?"

"Yes. How do I find you?"

"Call me on my cell. I'll come get you."

"See you then."

We disconnected, and I took a deep breath. This was really going to happen. I took another. This was for Sam. I could do this.

I noticed the time and hurried down to the gym. Didn't want to keep Bobby waiting.

Two hours later, I was covered in sweat and grinning like a fool. Bobby grinned back at me and I reached out a hand to help him up.

"Not bad, kiddo. See you tomorrow."

"I'll be here."

I jogged to the door and up the stairs. I had no time to waste if I was going to be on time for lunch.

Lunch with the girls was always an experience. It was even more so now that Ranger and I were together. I wasn't giving up any details, but that didn't stop them from trying. An hour and a half later, my head was throbbing as I left the restaurant. I decided to stop at 7-11 for aspirin and a coke on the way to the prison. I didn't want my attention to be diverted by a damn headache.

I took my aspirin and sipped my coke as I drove. I had a little over an hour to get there, so I was okay on time. I left the radio off and enjoyed the quiet. My headache had faded by the time I called Javi.

"It's me. I'm ten minutes away, where do you want me to park?"

"North side of the visitor's lot. I'll be waiting."

Javi was waiting just as he said he would be. He smiled as he saw me, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Hey Steph. If you're armed, leave it in the vehicle. Last chance to back out."

I had locked up my weapons right after I'd called him. I shook my head. "So, how do we do this?"

His smile was smaller this time, but it was real. "Follow me."

He led me to an employee entrance, and punched in a code. "This will get you past the sign-in desk, but no farther. From there, you act like any other visitor being escorted. I'll escort you. Don't make eye contact if you can help it." He put his hand on my arm. "Listen, there's no way to do this without a guard."

"No ear on me, Javi."

"Can't be done, Steph. The closest we're going to manage is ears we control. Mine."

Shit. I hadn't wanted him any more involved in this than he already was. I met his eyes. "In that case, are _you_ ready for this? Last chance to back out."

His look was serious, but steady. "I was ready before I called this morning."

I nodded and continued to follow. He led me to a small room. I looked a question at Javi, and he explained. "We usually use this room for an inmate to meet with their attorney, or occasionally a member of the clergy. No external ear here."

He held up a finger for me to wait outside the door a moment. He went in and rearranged some furniture. Coming back out the door, he said quietly. "When you walk in the room, stay to the right side as close to the wall as you can, keeping your head down. There's a chair in the far corner. That one's for you, it's under the camera and the one place it can't see."

I nodded my understanding. "Where will you be?"

"Just inside the door. I'm going to have to leave you for a minute to get him."

"Understood."

He held open the door and watched me make my way to the chair. He held up one finger and was gone.

I sat and waited. I thought I'd be more nervous, have more doubts or something. All I felt was an anxiousness to have this done.

Javi pushed Ward in ahead of him, and directed him to sit across from me, a small table between us.

He looked different in prison clothes, smaller somehow. I didn't like the way he was looking at me, but met his eyes. Finally, he smiled. "Well if it isn't sweetie pie. Hoping to get another look at the big boy? Couldn't get enough, could you?"

I barely smiled. "Hello, Anton. Brought you a present." I slid a picture most of the way across the table.

"What the fuck is this?" But he reached for the picture. He stared at it for a long time. I let him have all the time he needed. I'd chosen the picture, it was of Lauralene and baby Nicole. It was a good one, showing the two of them looking at each other.

"Her name is Nicole Francine Ward."

He looked up at me. "She gave her my name?" I nodded, and he went back to staring at the picture. "Even after I hit her like that..." He seemed to be talking to himself. He smiled just a little, and I got a glimpse of who Anton might have been, had his life been different. "Nicole was my momma's name."

He looked up again, meeting my eyes. The hard look was back. "Why you bring me this?"

"It's a peace offering, Anton, so we can talk."

"So talk."

"You know a guy named Michael Brennan?"

Small movement that might have been a nod. "Skinny white dude, trying to walk like he's all that, 'cuz he got popped for murder while he on parole." He shook his head. "Probably a poser or some shit, the boy ain't for real."

I smiled. It was an accurate assessment as far as it went. Brennan preyed on the young. I slid a picture of Sam across the table, and Ward picked it up. "That one I'll want back."

"Who's this?"

"His victim. She's not dead. The charge is attempted murder. But there's going to be more charges added soon."

He glanced at the picture, then slid it back to me. "Like what?"

"Sodomy, rape, sexual abuse of a minor, like that."

His face twisted in disgust. "Man, she ain't nothing but a baby."

"He gave her a concussion and a broken cheekbone knocking her out so he could rape her. Before that, he broke her leg, hit her so hard he broke a bunch of ribs, damaged her liver, pancreas, and spleen. There were bruises on her neck, so he tried to choke her out. The bruising on her waist was probably from when he raped her. He tore her up so bad her vagina and rectum had to be surgically repaired. After he was done, he threw her in a tub full of hot bleach water, burning 40 of her body so bad she's had to have skin grafts, and breaking her collarbone in the process. She's three, Anton."

He gave a short nod, jaw clenched. I risked a look at Javi. His expression was impassive, but he was a little paler than he had been a few minutes ago.

I turned my attention back to Ward. "You bring him in?" I nodded. "How do you know this girl?"

"I'm a friend of the family."

"So, you think a picture is gonna make me take care of this for you?"

I shook my head. "I don't want you to. In fact, I'd like you to stay as far away from him as you can."

He tilted his head, thinking. "What do you want, and what are you offering?"

"Francine Taylor is a good woman. She tried to raise her daughter right."

He nodded, unsure of where I was going with this. "Didn't stop her from gettin' wit me."

"No, it didn't. Maybe if she had a friend on the outside, keeping an eye and ear out, she could have. Maybe, now that Lauralene is a mother herself, she'll want to do better by your daughter."

"Lotta maybes. What are you offering, and what do you want?" Suspicious now.

"I've already talked to Lauralene. She's getting her GED. If she does well, I'll help her enroll in a community college, a few classes at a time, until she decides what she wants to do. There are a lot of scholarships out there, and she's got a chance to make something of herself, for her daughter's sake."

"She agreed to this?"

"Yes. She doesn't want to be working sixteen hour shifts to put food on the table and letting her daughter roam the streets."

"You're already doing this." I nodded. He looked at the picture again. "Lauralene, a college girl." He shook his head, amused. "So what are you doing for my kid?"

"For now? Just keeping an eye on her. As she gets older? Well, we'll see what she needs."

He looked at the picture again. "She's the only thing I ever been a part of that hasn't turned to shit. You keep it that way."

"I'll do my best, that's all I can offer."

He nodded. "So what is it you want."

"I want you to stay far away from Brennan. You're tied to me, and so is he. No connections." He nodded, and I smiled. "But feel free to distribute the truth about his crimes to anyone and everyone who might be interested."

His smile was slow and feral. "No connections, and he still get what's coming to him."

"Only thing, if they add to those charges soon, he'll be moved out of here. I don't know how much time we have before that happens."

Ward shrugged. "I tell a couple of big mouths, it'll be all over this place in hours, man. You a sneaky bitch." The last was said approvingly. "One other thing I want."

I held my breath, hoping it was something I was willing to deliver. "What?"

"I ever get a damn parole hearing, you there to testify on my behalf."

"I could do that, on one condition."

"What condition?"

"Do something with yourself while you're here. Get your own GED, then study something so you'll have something to do with yourself when you get out besides banging."

He shrugged. "It's all I know, man."

"It doesn't have to be. All you got is time, might as well use it."

"And if I do?"

"Then I testify on your behalf."

He thought a minute, then held out his hand. We shook on it, and Ward prepared to leave. He'd just reached the doorway when he turned around. "Last question. If I ever do get out of this shithole, we cool?"

I met his eyes. "As cool as you let us be."


	32. Epilogue

Family Ties

Epilogue

Three days later...

I was just getting in the shower when the phone rang. Well, I guess I won't be getting any company. I sighed, and got cleaned up. I wandered to the kitchen to see what Ella brought for breakfast. I kissed Ranger good morning before I asked. "Do you have to go?" We'd had plans to go away for the weekend, and I hoped work wouldn't intrude.

He shook his head. "I have news."

I turned from breakfast to look at him. "Good news or bad news?"

He almost smiled. "Good news for Sam."

"The DA's office decide they didn't need her?"

"No. Brennan's dead. They found his body this morning."

"I don't suppose he was kind enough to put us all out of our misery."

The barest of head shakes. "He was sodomized and beaten before having his testicles removed and fed to him."

I made a face. "Well, it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy."

The almost smile was back. "The GPS in your car shows you at the state prison three days ago."

Damn, I'd forgotten the GPS. I nodded. "Saw Anton Ward."

"Anton Ward?"

"I figured if I was ever going to really put the slayer mess behind me, I needed some closure."

"Closure."

"Mmm-hmm."

He held my gaze for long minutes. Questions were asked and answered in that look, though I knew we'd never speak of it. "And did you find what you were looking for?" He asked softly.

Still meeting his eyes, I answered. "Yes. I did."

He walked toward me, and we served ourselves breakfast. "The GPS had a malfunction, wiped out the memory. You'll have to drive one of the other vehicles until Al fixes it."

I put my arms around his waist. "Thanks."

The small smile was back. "We need to talk about something else."

I went back to my breakfast. "What's that?"

"You coming to work for Rangeman full-time."

I grinned up at him. "Didn't we already have this discussion?"

"It's time to talk about it again."

"Why is that?"

"Stephanie." I stopped and stared, both at his tone and at the use of my full name.

He walked over and put a hand under my chin, forcing me to look up at him. "You belong here."

I searched his eyes, and liked what I saw there. I nodded slowly. "Maybe I do."

It works if you want it to. Thanks Pat.

**For all the 'Sams' that fought and died during the writing of this story. May justice be swift and sure. **

**Thanks to all who read, commented, and encouraged me to write. You kept me going.**


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